Former Gov. George Voinovich, other Northeast Ohio leaders appointed to community-police task force

Gov. John Kasich and former state Sen. Nina Turner, a Cleveland Democrat, in December announced a task force to find ways Ohio communities can build better relationships with police departments. Kasich announced his appointees to the task force on Wednesday.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Several Northeast Ohio leaders are among those appointed to a new task force seeking to improve relations between Ohio communities and their police departments.

Gov. John Kasich tapped former Ohio Gov. George Voinovich and former Congressman Louis Stokes to serve as honorary co-chairs of the task force. Former state Sen. Nina Turner, a Cleveland Democrat, will serve as co-chair.

The other Northeast Ohio members are Ronnie Dunn, a Cleveland State University associate professor and member of the NAACP Criminal Justice Committee; Bernie Moreno, president of the Collection Auto Group; and state Sen. Sandra Williams, a Cleveland Democrat.

Kasich announced the task force in December, after events in Ohio and across the country prompted protests and concerns about the role of law enforcement officers. Turner and Williams had asked Kasich to consider forming a task force in response to cases involving the use of lethal force by police including two in Ohio: the shooting of 12-year-old Tamir Rice by Cleveland police at a city park and John Crawford III at a Walmart in Beavercreek in August.

"If there are people who feel that they are being shut out, you have to listen to them," Kasich said in December. "When people say 'I don't feel that the system is working for me,' if it's in large enough numbers, you'd better pay attention to it. And there are a growing number of Americans that say 'The system is not working for me.'"

Kasich made his announcement the day after the U.S. Department of Justice reported Cleveland police are too quick to use deadly force and identified a pattern of using excessive force in violation of citizens' Constitutional rights.

The task force will hold at least four public forums to get input before issuing a report providing ideas for how communities and police can build constructive relationships. The first forum will be held from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday in Waetjen Auditorium at Cleveland State University, 2001 Euclid Ave., Cleveland.

The rest of the 24-member committee:

  • Honorary co-chair: former Ohio Supreme Court Justice Evelyn Lundberg Stratton of Columbus;
  • Chair: Ohio Department of Public Safety Director John Born of Lancaster;
  • Akron Police Officer Brian S. Armstead, also a member of the Fraternal Order of Police;
  • Ohio Association of Communication Action Agencies Executive Director Phil Cole of Columbus;
  • Rev. Damon Lynch III of Cincinnati, senior pastor of New Prospect Baptist Church;
  • Former Cincinnati Bengals player Anthony Munoz of Cincinnati;
  • Cincinnati councilwoman Amy Murray;
  • The Most Rev. George Murry, Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Youngstown;
  • Oregon Police Chief Michael J. Navarre, formerly with the Toledo Police Department and member of the Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police;
  • Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien;
  • Ohio Department of Commerce Andre T. Porter of Gahanna;
  • Sheriff Vernon P. Stanforth of Washington Court House, a member of the Buckeye State Sheriffs' Association;
  • Ohio Civil Rights Commissioner Tom Roberts of Dayton, a former Ohio senator and life member of the NAACP;
  • Sen. Cliff K. Hite, a Findlay Republican;
  • Rep. Tim Derickson, a Hanover Township Republican;
  • Rep. Alicia M. Reece, a Cincinnati Democrat and president of the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus;
  • Ohio Criminal Sentencing Commission Executive Director Sara Andrews of Columbus; and
  • Attorney Tannisha Bell, chief for the Attorney General's Crime Victim Services Section

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