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Behind the Badge: When is police use of force reasonable?
Our Behind the Badge project continues this week with a look at one of the most controversial aspects of policing: When is it appropriate for police officer to use force, such as tasers, pepper spray, or throwing someone on the ground?
• What officers are taught: Reporter London Bishop has for months been attending the Sinclair Police Academy to learn how cadets are trained to do their job. In her most recent report, she shares what they are taught in the classroom about use of force, techniques she learned along with them to take down someone who is being combative, and recent examples of controversial actions by area officers.
• The numbers: Reporter Avery Kreemer and I teamed up for a story looking at statistics and trends for local police departments. We found use of force incidents increasing in some local departments and decreasing in others, and one local department sanctioned the same officer twice for violating department policy.
• Behind the Badge: Our community needs professional, well-trained, accountable law enforcement. That’s why we sent London to attend the Sinclair Police Academy, where for six months she is learning alongside recruits what it takes to wear the badge, telling their stories, and helping the public understand how police are trained to do their job. Visit the Behind the Badge page on our website.
• More from this project: Other recent stories from this series include how cadets are trained to handle missing person and human trafficking cases, when cadets are taught they can detain or search someone, and a proposal to increase standards for Ohio law enforcement agencies.
• Coming Monday: As part of this project, London participated in the Sinclair class where cadets are administered pepper spray to know how it feels. That story is coming Monday.
New home construction expected to bounce back from 2023 decline: Here’s what that means for region
Credit: JIM NOELKER
Credit: JIM NOELKER
A recent decline in new home starts in the Dayton area due to rising costs of materials and labor is expected to be short-lived, industry experts tell the Dayton Daily News.
• Big picture: Total permits for new home starts dropped 14.8% last year, from 1,992 in 2022 to 1,697 in 2023, according to Home Builders Association of Dayton.
• Zooming in: In this story reporter Eric Schwartzberg breaks down what drove this change, what industry experts expect this year, and what local communities are impacted the most. One local community saw homebuilding drop by nearly half, while another is bucking the trend.