November 08, 2023

Rep. Sykes Announces More Than $1.5 Million To Hire And Retain Law Enforcement Officers, Support Community Policing

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Representative Emilia Sykes (OH-13) announced the U.S. Department of Justice has awarded multiple grants totalling more than $1.5 million to communities in Ohio’s 13th Congressional District to hire and retain law enforcement officers and support community policing.

“I’m excited to announce over $1.5 million in Community Oriented Policing funding will be coming back to Ohio’s 13th Congressional District. These vital grants will be used to improve the safety of our communities, hire more experienced and responsible officers, and continue rebuilding trust between law enforcement and the people they serve. I am especially pleased to see $172,595 awarded to the City of Akron for de-escalation training, a measure I have long advocated for to protect both police officers and civilians and make sure everyone can make it home safely to their families at the end of the day,” said Rep. Emilia Sykes. “As a co-lead of bipartisan legislation to expand the COPS Hiring Program, I’ll continue working diligently across the aisle to ensure our law enforcement agencies and officers have the resources they need to serve our communities safely and effectively.”

Investments from the Community Oriented Policing Services Hiring Program include:

  • $250,000 to the City of Barberton to hire 2 new law enforcement officers;
  • $625,000 to the City of Canton to hire 5 new law enforcement officers;
  • $125,000 to the Village of Mogadore to hire 1 new law enforcement officer;
  • $375,000 to the Summit County Sheriff’s Office to hire 3 new law enforcement officers.

Investments from the Community Policing Development Program include:

  • $172,595 to the City of Akron for law enforcement agency de-escalation training.

In May 2023, Rep. Sykes partnered with Reps. Greg Landsman (OH-01), Mike Carey (OH-15), and Max Miller (OH-07) to introduce the Enhancing COPS Hiring Program Grants for Local Law Enforcement Act – endorsed by the Small & Rural Law Enforcement Executives Association – which would expand the COPS Hiring Program to allow local law enforcement agencies to utilize the grants for recruitment and retention bonuses, and also modify the program to allow grant applications for COPS Hiring Program grants to be valid for five years, instead of the current one year, to reduce costs and administrative burdens associated with the annual applications.

While serving as House Minority Leader at the Ohio Statehouse, Rep. Sykes led the introduction of a comprehensive police reform plan that would have restored accountability, modernized use-of-force standards and tackled racial bias in policing. The plan included legislation to require annual training in de-escalation, first aid, and mental health crises.