After several years of rejecting the Ohio Coalition To End Qualified Immunity’s (OCTEQI) petition summary, the Ohio Attorney General’s Office on Nov. 25 finally officially accepted their summary of its proposed constitutional amendment seeking to end qualified immunity for peace officers and possibly other government officials in Ohio.

The OCTEQI believes, as other activists do, that the only way to curb police brutality is to change policy. Qualified immunity shields law enforcement and other state actors from personal liability (civil suits).

A November 8 ruling by the Ohio Supreme Court prompted Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost to re-evaluate the summary and its title, “Protecting Ohioans Constitutional Rights.” His office had rejected the proposed constitutional amendment nearly ten times before, but the OCTEQI time and time again was unrelenting in its effort to gather the roughly 1,000 signatures for the AG to approve the next step.

Now the Ohio Ballot Board must determine whether the OCTEQI’s proposal contains a single constitutional amendment or multiple constitutional amendments. If the board certifies the proposal, the OCTEQI must collect signatures from registered voters equal to at least 10 percent of the vote cast in the most recent gubernatorial election.

In many ways the OCTEQI victory is a victory for all grassroots efforts across the state that also wish to amend the state’s constitution. The inspiration behind the OCTEQI was mostly born in Columbus, however. Cynthia Brown is director for the OCTEQI, her leadership driven by the death of her 30-year-old nephew Kareem Ali Nadir Jones, who in 2017 was approached by Columbus police for no good reason, shot in the back and killed. Between 2013 and 2016, Columbus police shot and killed 24 people, 20 of them Black. At the time, Columbus was number one in the nation of the 15 largest cities for police killings of African Americans per capita.

“While there have been some changes and efforts made by the Columbus Division of Police since 2020, many community members and activists feel that more substantial and systemic changes are necessary to address the underlying issues of accountability and trust,” Brown told the Free Press. “The conversation around police reform is ongoing, and community engagement remains a critical component of moving forward.”

Ending qualified immunity is not merely a radical idea, believes Brown, it is a necessary step toward ensuring justice and equality for all Ohioans.

“We believe that no individual should be above the law, and it is our duty as citizens to advocate for meaningful change in our government. We call upon all Ohioans to remain informed and engaged in this critical dialogue. Our rights to petition and free speech are fundamental to our democracy, and we must collectively defend them against any attempts to undermine our efforts for accountability and reform. Together, we can foster a more just society where our constitutional rights are upheld and respected,” she said.

According to a poll taken in April by Campaign Zero, an organization that helps fund the OCETQI, 87 percent of Ohioans believe that officers should face consequences for violating a person’s rights, and 53 percent of Ohioans believe qualified immunity should be eliminated. Four states – Colorado, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, and New York City – have completely banned police officers from using qualified immunity as a defense in state court.

Initially introduced during the civil rights movement, qualified immunity was meant to protect law enforcement officials from frivolous lawsuits and financial liability when they acted in good faith in unclear legal situations.

Over time, however, courts increasingly applied the doctrine to cases involving excessive or deadly force by police, leading to criticism that it has become a nearly failsafe tool to let police brutality go unpunished and deny victims their constitutional rights.

Besides ending qualified immunity, the OCTEQI has a mission to address systemic racism, inequality, and injustice, and rebuild trust between law enforcement and the community, says Brown.

“They will continue to act with impunity unless we remove that immunity,” says Brown.