The Buckeye State is providing the Cincinnati Police Department with support from the Ohio State Highway Patrol, a gubernatorial press release indicates. The announcement comes in the wake of a vicious downtown beating in Cincinnati, Ohio last week that went viral online, shocking the nation.
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval, and Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge announced today that the state will provide additional manpower to support the Cincinnati Police Department. After listening to concerns from community members about recent instances of violence, local authorities have requested support from the Ohio State Highway Patrol (OSHP) to aid with traffic enforcement and provide aviation support.
OSHP troopers will focus on traffic enforcement to free up local officers to respond to and investigate other crimes. OSHP’s Aviation Unit will focus on supporting local violent crime reduction initiatives, criminal suspect searches, and vehicle pursuit mitigation. DeWine, a Republican, has served as governor since early 2019.
Other services offered by the state include additional support from the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction and Ohio Department of Youth Services to locate adults and youth who are not following post-release control or parole conditions; evidence analysis and intelligence gathering by the Ohio Narcotics Intelligence Center; and targeted enforcement by the Ohio Investigative Unit on liquor establishments that are known for illegal sales, drug trafficking, and prostitution.