Police accountability in Ohio is moving forward. WYSO reports that Ohio activists are targeting qualified immunity (QI).
As WYSO Ohio writes, a coalition of statewide civil rights groups has formed to take on the troubled doctrine. The group, Accountability Now Ohio, set up a petition drive in Cincinnati on April 17. The goal was to collect enough signatures to register themselves as a political action committee (PAC).
Once they’re a PAC, WYSO reports, they’ll work on getting a measure to end QI on the November 2022 ballot.
Iris Roley, a member of the Cincinnati Black United Front, which has been working closely with Accountability Now Ohio, believes that building police accountability in Ohio by abolishing QI is a matter of racial justice. Per WYSO, “Roley says qualified immunity is often used in police brutality cases, where white officers are sued for killing unarmed Black people.”
“We got to keep our eyes collectively on all systems,” Roley said during the petition drive. “…our process works when people work together and we are able to hold [the police] accountable.”
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