Ohio sheriff demands vulnerable Dem congresswoman withdraw plans for nationwide cop ‘de-escalation’ rules
An Ohio sheriff is demanding vulnerable Democratic Rep. Emilia Sykes withdraw the national “de-escalation” law-enforcement training bill she just tabled in Congress.
The Post obtained an exclusive copy of the letter from Portage County Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski prior to its delivery.
Sykes introduced the bipartisan Law Enforcement Scenario-Based Training for Safety and De-escalation Act late last month alongside Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), Don Bacon (R-Neb.), and Glenn Ivey (D-Md.)
The bill would require the Justice Department’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services “to create real-life, scenario-based training curriculum for law enforcement personnel based on the wide range of issues they encounter while serving our communities, including: improving community-police relations; officer and community safety; situational awareness; physical and emotional responses to stress; critical decision-making and problem solving; de-escalation and use of force; and crisis intervention,” Sykes’ office said.
But Sheriff Zuchowski says any changes to law enforcement’s longstanding rules of engagement could place officers at increased risk.
“Emilia Sykes has consistently stood against law enforcement and raised tensions in our communities. I hope that folks can see this and join me in demanding she stop taking the side of criminals against law enforcement,” he told The Post. “We need to replace her in Congress. Anything she will do at this point will be lip service. The damage is done and we need new leadership in our district.”
Sykes declined to comment until she is able to review the letter in full — but a spokesperson emphasized to The Post that Sykes has been laser-focused on criminal-justice reform “from the very first day” she took office.
Back in the Ohio statehouse in 2020, Sykes co-sponsored a resolution urging Congress to enact the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which aimed to place restrictions on policing tactics (such as chokeholds) following the infamous death of its namesake.
Since making the jump to DC, Sykes has been more vocal about criminal-justice issues — especially since an unarmed 25-year-old named Jayland Walker was shot and killed by police in Akron exactly two years before her de-escalation bill was introduced.
Sykes introduced another bill designed to support domestic-violence victims and new training for first responders, but that legislation has been stalled in committee since October.
Surveys indicate that while trust in police varies across demographic groups, most Ohioans generally trust their cops, per Light Ohio Blue, a nonprofit dedicated to tracking and improving police perception in the Midwest.
Support for law-enforcement reforms surged in the immediate aftermath of George Floyd’s 2020 death.
A June 2020 poll found 95% of Americans believed some form of police reform was necessary.
This period also saw widespread backing for the Black Lives Matter movement, with 67% of US adults expressing support.
But by 2022, a University of Massachusetts Amherst poll noted a decrease in support for various police-reform measures like slashing police-department funding and banning chokeholds.
General support for the Black Lives Matter movement dropped to 51% by the end of 2023 following allegations of financial impropriety by the organization’s founder.
Sykes’ latest bill is now with the House Judiciary Committee, where it awaits further debate. The Cook Political Report rates her November race a toss-up.
