109:2-18-02. Officer training requirements

(A) Every appointing authority shall require each of its appointed peace officers and troopers to complete up to twenty-four hours of continuing professional training each calendar year.

(B) The commission shall set the required minimum number of hours based upon the availability of funding for reimbursement. If no funding is available for reimbursement, continuing professional training shall not be required for the year(s) in which sufficient funding was not available.

(C) Newly certified peace officers shall be exempt from continuing professional training requirements for the calendar year in which the peace officer completed peace officer basic training. Newly commissioned troopers shall be exempt from continuing professional training requirements for the calendar year in which the trooper completed the highway patrol cadet training program. Effective the date of this amendment, regardless of when a peace officer receives a new appointment, they are required to complete continuing professional training for that calendar year.

(D) Sheriffs completing training pursuant to division (B) of section 109.80 and division (E) of section 311.01 of the Revised Code may receive credit towards the peace officer continuing professional training requirement as long as the training satisfies the requirements of this chapter.

(E) Officers completing statutorily mandated training may receive credit towards the peace officer continuing professional training requirement for the calendar year the training is taken as long as the training satisfies the requirements of this chapter.

(F) Peace officers and troopers may receive credit for up to four hours of continuing professional training for time spent while on duty providing drug use prevention education training if all of the following requirements are met:

(1) The curricula and lesson plans utilized must be evidenced-based.

(2) The students instructed must be in a school district, community school established under Chapter 3314 of the Revised Code, STEM school established under Chapter 3326 of the Revised Code or a college-preparatory boarding school established under Chapter 3328 of the Revised Code, and

(3) The peace officer or trooper providing the training meets the instructor requirements found in paragraph (A)(4)(a) of rule 109:2-18-03 of the Administrative Code.

(G) A law enforcement agency utilizing a peace officer or trooper to provide training described in a paragraph (F) of this rule may use any hours in excess of four that the officer or trooper accumulates while providing that training for other peace officers or troopers appointed by the agency to offset the number of continuing professional training hours required. No more than four hours of training per officer or trooper may be offset pursuant to this paragraph.

(H) The training described in paragraph (F) of this rule cannot be used by a peace officer, trooper, or law enforcement agency to offset any hands-on training required by the commission.

(I) The executive director may extend the time for completion of the continuing professional training requirements upon written request from the appointing authority. Such request shall contain an explanation of the emergency circumstances which created the need for the extension. The application shall set forth the name of the peace officer or trooper for whom the extension is requested, the emergency circumstances, including documentation, for which the extension is requested, and the date on which the request was submitted to the commission. Factors which may be considered in granting or denying such requests include, but are not limited to, serious illness of the individual or an immediate family member, prolonged military service, or an unexpected shortage of manpower within the appointing agency. Based upon the emergency circumstances in any given case, the executive director may extend the required completion date. Extensions shall be for ninety days, absent a finding by the executive director that special circumstances exist for a longer extension.

(J) The executive director shall either grant or deny the request for extension within thirty days after the date on which the request was received by the commission. The executive director shall send written notice of the decision to the appointing authority.

(K) In the event a peace officer or trooper is appointed by more than one agency as of July first of the calendar year for which training is being reported, the agency responsible for documenting the training and eligibility for reimbursement shall be determined by order of priority as follows:

(1) full-time,

(2) part-time, and

(3) other.

In the event a peace officer or trooper holds appointments of equal priority, the agency by which the peace officer or trooper was first appointed shall be the agency responsible for documenting the training and eligibility.

(L) Continuing professional training does not include annual in-service firearms re-qualification pursuant to section 109.801 of the Revised Code.

(M) For purposes of this rule, "hands-on training" means

(1) Training that is not primarily lecture-based;

(2) Training that involves physical activity or exertion; and

(3) Training that involves direct practical experience for the students.

Five Year Review (FYR) Dates: 10/16/2019 and 10/16/2024
Promulgated Under: 119.03
Statutory Authority: 109.802
Rule Amplifies: 109.73, 109.803, 109.802 , 109.75
Prior Effective Dates: 10/12/2007, 10/16/2009, 01/16/2016, 01/01/2018

Prior History: (Effective: 1/1/2018
Five Year Review (FYR) Dates: 10/16/2019
Promulgated Under: 119.03
Statutory Authority: 109.802
Rule Amplifies: 109.73, 109.803, 109.802, 109.75
Prior Effective Dates: 10/12/2007, 10/16/2009, 01/16/2016)