Latest news with #DaytonPD
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Residents, workers grappling with downtown NATO closures
DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) — As security begins to take over downtown ahead of the NATO Assembly, many residents are left wondering what exactly is going on. As police and city workers begin setting up the NATO Village, residents and workers are scrambling to adapt and find detours. Many say they are shocked to see barricades up near their homes and businesses, leaving many bewildered. Downtown road closures, security measures announced for NATO 2025 'What's going on? What are they doing here?' asked one Dayton resident. These questions were echoed by many others as they watched the Dayton Police Department and several other agencies completely lock down nearly ten blocks of Dayton's downtown area. 'I just think it's a bunch of hogwash, man, unfortunate,' said a downtown resident. 'You know, people that don't have cars can't avoid this nonsense, you know, it just impacts our daily life.' While sidewalks are open for now, starting Wednesday, anyone who doesn't have proper credentials will be barred from the NATO Village — a secure area where the parliamentary assembly will be held. 'If you plan on coming downtown, just make sure you know everything is cut off,' said Angel Sims, who works downtown. 'Just prepare yourself, it's going to be way more secure, more police officers will be out. It's not going to be the normal everyday, where you can come downtown and go whichever way you want.' For drivers, Dayton PD says that Apple and Google Maps will update to reflect the road closures. Bus riders will be able to view updated routes on the RTA website. LIST: What is closing in Dayton during the NATO Assembly? For people looking to get to work or simply walk through the heart of downtown, they're out of luck until next Tuesday. 'You can't do nothing around here, you can't even get from point A to point B,' said Neeko Lundy, who often travels through downtown. Police say pedestrian access tunnels and throughways will be available for residents and workers to get to their buildings. But residents and workers say the inconvenience is still apparent. 'The more fences and more security they put up, it's just harder to maintain and work downtown,' said Sims. The NATO conference lasts until Memorial Day on Monday, and Dayton PD say they should have the downtown area cleaned up and reopened by that Wednesday. Click here to learn more about the road closures and what to expect. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Yahoo
Officers involved in shootout, crash called to testify on day 2 of Skirvin trial
DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) — Trial continues for the man accused in a police shootout and violent crash last January. James Skirvin is facing several charges after the chaotic events of Jan. 8, 2024. Skirvin is accused of running over his daughter before leading law enforcement on a chase down US-35, shooting at officers with a long gun and crashing into a police cruiser. Man charged in fatal Riverside crash of stolen vehicle Skirvin is now facing domestic violence charges and four counts of felonious assault on a police officer with a deadly weapon. On Tuesday, jurors heard from several law enforcement witnesses and learned more about the timeline of events — from the moments Skirvin ran over his daughter at a trailer home park in Trotwood to the final crash site on US-35 near Abbey Avenue. Trotwood police were the first to respond to the scene, but several other agencies were called in as Skirvin led police on a chase on US-35 with a long gun. On the witness stand Tuesday were those officers from Trotwood PD, including the officer seriously injured in the crash. Officers with Dayton PD and deputies with the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office who fired shots also took the stand, along with officials from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation. Jurors got to see the long gun used in the shootout as well as dashcam footage of the crash. Testimony will continue on Wednesday. Stay with 2 NEWS as we continue to cover this trial. Click here for prior coverage of Day 1 of Skirvin's trial. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Safety, housing conditions among ‘highest importance' to Dayton residents
DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) — Data from the 2024 Dayton Survey has been released, and shows aspects of what city residents like and consider to need improvement. Surveys were mailed to each home in Dayton in September 2024, which sought feedback directly from those who reside in the community to receive their perspective of issues important to them. 'The 2024 Dayton Survey indicates areas of growth and higher satisfaction, as well as areas of concern and potential improvement,' said the city. 'Survey results are regularly reviewed and used by the City of Dayton to help guide future programming and service delivery changes.' According to survey results, the following items were identified by residents as areas of the 'highest importance:' Crime/safety Drug usage Housing conditions Abandoned homes and blight Gun violence Percent Measure 52% Dissatisfied with city pavement, sidewalks, streets 46% Agree Dayton PD responsive to neighborhood needs 42% Satisfied with neighborhood housing conditions 34% 'Strongly agree' or 'agree' with vital expense concerns 32% 'Very dissatisfied' or 'dissatisfied' with affordable housing options Percent Measure 78% 'Highly satisfied' with Dayton Waste Collection services 73% 'Very satisfied' or 'satisfied' for Dayton Fire/EMS services 60% 'Very satisfied' or 'satisfied' as Dayton being a place to live Roughly 57% – 'Good access' to fresh groceries in their area (mostly agree in northeast, southeast neighborhoods)—– 'Very satisfied' or 'satisfied' with neighborhood overall (particularly downtown and east Dayton had highest satisfaction) 55% 'Very satisfied' or 'satisfied' with Dayton Police services (particularly downtown and east Dayton had highest satisfaction) — Click here to view the full breakdown of survey results. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Yahoo
Local police can soon charge $75/hour for body cam video. But will they? Here's what we found
Mar. 21—Despite a new Ohio law permitting law enforcement agencies to charge up to $75 an hour for police video records starting April 2, most of the region's biggest departments are still mulling their own policies. Those internal policies will be critical for public records access. In December, the state passed a law permitting, but not requiring, departments to charge up to $75 an hour, but not more than $750 total, for dash cam and body camera footage. As this outlet reported, the scantly-debated law was meant to help departments dissuade, or at least recoup the labor costs associated with, content creators that lodge mass public records requests and post those videos online in search of commercial profit. But the law has sparked concern among First Amendment advocates who note the law could put video public records out of reach for journalists or everyday citizens. Here are some of the responses this outlet has received from Miami Valley law enforcement agencies. Dayton Police "The Dayton Police Department is reviewing the legislation that allows agencies to charge for body and in-car camera video requests," Police Information Specialist James Rider told this outlet. Rider said Dayton PD has seen a "sharp increase" in video records requests, "often from individuals operating social media channels." In 2023, the department processed 1,300 such requests; in 2024 it processed over 3,000. Rider noted that the process for actually turning these videos — Ohio law requires them to protect the identity of crime victims and uncharged suspects — is "labor-intensive and costly." Montgomery County Sheriff Agency spokeswoman Christine Bevins told this outlet that the Montgomery County Sheriff's office has no immediate plans to divert from its policy — which most departments have today — of charging requestors only for the material the videos are provided on. "At this point we are waiting to see if the law itself reduces the number of requests we get from those whose only interest in the videos is to post the material online for monetary gain," Bevins said. She noted that the department isn't fully confident the law will stay as-is. The video requests have been so abundant, Bevins said, that the county hired a full-time employee for the department's redaction unit to help with the approximately 20 requests the unit fields each day. "We get lots of requests that we either know or suspect are destined to be used online for commercial purposes. It's not unusual to get a list of a dozen of more incidents from a single requestor and it's not uncommon for a single incident to have multiple deputies and vehicles involved," Bevins said. "Some would suggest that we should start charging those with a commercial interest and not charge citizens with a demonstrated need for the videos. At times, it could be difficult to differentiate the two and I imagine that those with commercial interests would just change the way they make their requests in an attempt to avoid the fees." Springfield, Clark County Sheriff On Thursday, the newly-minted Clark County Sheriff Chris Clark told this outlet that there are no immediate plans to change policy. "We have not changed our pricing on that, as of yet," Clark said. "We're looking at, but it's not something that I'm real hot-to-trot on changing just yet." Clark said he expects the mere existence of the law to cut down on frivolous requests. "I'm not saying it won't change in the near future. It's on my agenda, it's just on the back burner for right now," he said. Springfield is among many cities that have not adopted a policy under the new law, maintaining the status quo — allowing departments to charge for materials such as flash drives or disks, but not labor — for the time being. Kettering, Hamilton, others holding off This news outlet reached out to law enforcement agencies across this nine-county region of southwest Ohio. Most said they have no immediate plans to start charging for police videos, but could do so if the burden of fulfilling requests becomes or stays too high. In an email, Kettering Police Department's Public Information Officer Cynthia James told this outlet that city "has not adopted a policy yet," but they are still reviewing the state legislation. The same is true in Hamilton, where Assistant Chief of Police Brian Robinson told this outlet, "We have no policies in place or in development at this time." In the Butler County's Sheriffs Office, Chief Deputy Anthony Dwyer told this outlet that he expects more video requests to come in as more people become aware of the department's adoption of body cameras. "We have discussed charging for videos but we have not finalized that decision," Dwyer said. This news outlet received similar responses from the Ohio State Highway Patrol, Fairfield Twp., Middletown, Monroe, Troy, Piqua and others. Miami County targets commercial requests Miami County Sheriff Dave Duchak told this outlet that his department's policies will only impact "those who operate commercialized businesses and exploit the open records law for profit." Duchak said the rate will include the hourly wage of support staff and their benefits. He hopes it will "dissuade the abuse of Ohio's open record laws." "(Commercial requests) are a burden to the system and do not align with the purpose of public records, which is transparency," Duchak said. "This is an issue that should have been dealt with by the legislature a long time ago." Some cities charging everyone Not all departments have been tentative. Oakwood Law Director Robert Jacques, for example, told this outlet the department would begin charging journalists, citizens and content creators alike for police video records. "The city has not finalized the hourly rate that will be charged to cover administrative expenses when (the law) goes into effect in April," Jacques said. "We anticipate that fees will be based on the wage and fringe benefit costs for a records clerk, converted to an hourly rate, plus any actual reimbursables such as flash drives or other storage media." Jacques said Oakwood typically receives fewer than 10 video records requests a year. In Tipp City, it's been determined that they'll charge the same way no matter the requestor. "Our policy will reflect the (law) changes and charge $75 an hour up to $750 for preparing the video," Tipp City Police Chief Greg Adkins told this outlet. "This charge covers the employee's time, benefits, and material costs." Adkins said the department will not charge if "an involved party" wants to sit down and review video records. Otherwise, he said, "We will not direct a policy that allows the release to specific organizations at no cost and to other organizations at full price. We will be fair across all spectrums of requests." ------ For more stories like this, sign up for our Ohio Politics newsletter. It's free, curated, and delivered straight to your inbox every Thursday evening. Avery Kreemer can be reached at 614-981-1422, on X, via email, or you can drop him a comment/tip with the survey below.
