Bill to increase penalties for fleeing police

SPECIAL TO THE VINDICATOR

COLUMBUS — People who try to run from the police would face stiffer penalties under legislation introduced in the Ohio House.

State Rep. Kenny Yuko, a Democrat from the Cleveland area, offered House Bill 154 after several incidents in his district in which officers were injured and one pedestrian killed.

“This bill would serve to protect our police officers as well as private citizens,” Yuko told the House’s Criminal Justice Committee this week.

“If we raise the penalties for this crime, suspects may think twice before running from the police, and we may be able to avoid tragedies.”

Under current law, individuals who try to escape from officers in motor vehicles face up to six months in jail and $1,000 in fines.

Yuko’s bill would increase those penalties to six to 12 months in jail and fines of $2,500, plus it would add fleeing from officers without the use of a motor vehicle as a crime.

Yuko recounted two Cleveland incidents that prompted the bill. In one, a woman was hit and killed by a 13-year-old who had stolen a car and was running from police.

In the other, two police officers were hospitalized after crashing their cruiser during a chase.

The House’s Criminal Justice Committee will continue hearings on the bill in coming weeks.