Heck has notified police agencies across the county of his decision, saying that while he believes his office has handled these cases in a “fair, just and unbiased manner” the reality is that this change should help improve the public perception of justice.
Heck said he changed this policy after state lawmakers and elected officials recently recommended requiring outside prosecutors to be assigned to all cases of officer-involved shootings and deaths of people in police custody.
These recommendations were made after statewide protests demanding racial justice and police reforms after the death of George Floyd.
In a letter to area law enforcement, Heck pointed to comments by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine in which the governor said law enforcement agencies should not investigate themselves.
Heck also said the executive committee of the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association voted to support a proposal to require outside investigators and outside prosecutors to be used in cases in which police use lethal force.
The executive committee voted to support this proposal in June after a lengthy debate, according to the association’s newsletter.
“There is no question that prosecutors can do their jobs fairly and with integrity and are perfectly capable of recognizing their own conflicts,” says the group’s July newsletter. “Our support for the proposal instead recognizes that there is a bigger picture issue of public confidence in the law should be addressed to promote faith in the justice system.”
At the time the revised policy was announced last month, four officer-involved shootings were either under investigation by a law enforcement agency or were under review by Heck’s office, according to a spokesman for the office
“All four of those cases have been assigned to special prosecutors from other counties,” he said.
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