COLUMBUS, Ohio — Shortly into his briefing Tuesday, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine centered a good bit of attention on inequities and disparities in Ohio— from education and health, to economic issues.
Acknowledging there are no simple solutions, DeWine also committed to doing several things, including addressing issues with police officers.
“We must enhance transparency in regard to the police— transparency between the public and our police and our police departments,” he said.
He added that there is a great need to do the following:
- Improve access to quality training for police
- Recruit more minorities
- Have more oversight and accountability of police
- Check the complaint records and histories of officers previously involved in shootings
As DeWine waits for action to be taken on these things, he and others rely on state police and the National Guard to assist in Columbus and Cleveland.
Ohio National Guard Major General John Harris, Jr. emphasized that as they assist, they’ll use minimum force while protecting people— an issue that has already surfaced among local police.
“Regardless of who the people are, if we have to protect a protester, if their life is in jeopardy, we’ll do that,” said Harris.
As the use of force is at the top of people’s minds, DeWine didn’t denounce President Trump’s push to bring in the military to handle the protests if states couldn’t, but he did say this:
“I'm satisfied with where we are.”
While he’s comfortable with where Ohio currently stands, there is still cause for concern when it comes to a COVID-19 spike due to protests.
“We’ll take whatever action is necessary to protect the public safety and health, but we’re not looking to reimpose any kind of order,” DeWine said.
Health Director Dr. Amy Acton noted that ultimately they’re looking at new ways to handle the situation as they move forward.
Outside of the protests, DeWine has committed to making sure those in underserved populations without access get COVID testing, while Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted indicated that there are a number of new programs that will provide money for businesses run by women, minorities and those in the Appalachian region.
That also includes money for companies to retool and make PPE in Ohio.
With so much more work to do, all have acknowledged they’ve got a long way to go, but they’ll now be looking to legislators to begin making even more changes soon.
The governor’s wife also announced that a new preloaded card for those with SNAP benefits and EBT would be available soon.