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(a) No public official shall knowingly do any of the following:
(1) Authorize or employ the authority of the public official’s office to secure authorization of any public contract in which the public official, a member of the public official’s family, or any of the public official’s business associates has an interest.
(2) Authorize or employ the authority or influence of the public official’s office to secure the investment of public funds in any share, bond, mortgage, or other security with respect to which the public official, a member of the public official’s family, or any of the public official’s business associates either has an interest, is an underwriter, or receives any brokerage, origination, or servicing fees.
(3) During the public official’s term of office or within one year thereafter, occupy any position of profit in the prosecution of a public contract authorized by the public official or by a legislative body, commission, or board of which the public official was a member at the time of authorization, unless the contract was let by competitive bidding to the lowest and best bidder.
(4) Have an interest in the profits or benefits of a public contract entered into by or for the use of the political subdivision or governmental agency or instrumentality with which the public official is connected.
(5) Have an interest in the profits or benefits of a public contract that is not let by competitive bidding when required by law, and that involves more than one hundred fifty dollars ($150.00).
(b) In the absence of bribery or a purpose to defraud, a public official, member of a public official’s family, or any of a public official’s business associates shall not be considered as having an interest in a public contract or the investment of public funds, if all of the following apply:
(1) The interest of that person is limited to owning or controlling shares of the corporation, or being a creditor of the corporation or other organization, that is the contractor on the public contract involved, or that is the issuer of the security in which public funds are invested.
(2) The shares owned or controlled by that person do not exceed 5% of the outstanding shares of the corporation, and the amount due that person as creditor does not exceed 5% of the total indebtedness of the corporation or other organization.
(3) That person, prior to the time the public contract is entered into, files with the political subdivision or governmental agency or instrumentality involved, an affidavit giving that person’s exact status in connection with the corporation or other organization.
(c) This section does not apply to a public contract in which a public official, member of a public official’s family, or one of a public official’s business associates has an interest, when all of the following apply:
(1) The subject of the public contract is necessary supplies or services for the political subdivision or governmental agency or instrumentality involved.
(2) The supplies or services are unobtainable elsewhere for the same or lower cost, or are being furnished to the political subdivision or governmental agency or instrumentality as part of a continuing course of dealing established prior to the public official’s becoming associated with the political subdivision or governmental agency or instrumentality involved.
(3) The treatment accorded the political subdivision or governmental agency or instrumentality is either preferential to or the same as that accorded other customers or clients in similar transactions.
(4) The entire transaction is conducted at arm’s length, with full knowledge by the political subdivision or governmental agency or instrumentality involved, of the interest of the public official, member of the public official’s family, or business associate, and the public official takes no part in the deliberations or decision of the political subdivision or governmental agency or instrumentality with respect to the public contract.
(d) Division (a)(4) of this section does not prohibit participation by a public employee in any housing program funded by public monies if the public employee otherwise qualifies for the program and does not use the authority or influence of the public employee’s office or employment to secure benefits from the program and if the monies are to be used on the primary residence of the public employee. Such participation does not constitute an unlawful interest in a public contract in violation of this section.
(e) Whoever violates this section is guilty of having an unlawful interest in a public contract. Violation of division (a)(1) or (2) of this section is a felony to be prosecuted under appropriate state law. Violation of division (a)(3), (4), or (5) of this section is a misdemeanor of the first degree.
(f) It is not a violation of this section for a prosecuting attorney to appoint assistants and employees in accordance with Ohio R.C. 309.06 and 2921.421, or for a chief legal officer of a municipality or an official designated as prosecutor in a municipality to appoint assistants and employees in accordance with Ohio R.C. 733.621 and 2921.421, or for a township law director appointed under Ohio R.C. 504.15 to appoint assistants and employees in accordance with Ohio R.C. 504.151 and 2921.421.
(g) Any public contract in which a public official, a member of the public official’s family, or any of the public official’s business associates has an interest in violation of this section is void and unenforceable. Any contract securing the investment of public funds in which a public official, a member of the public official’s family, or any of the public official’s business associates has an interest, is an underwriter, or receives any brokerage, origination or servicing fees and that was entered into in violation of this section is void and unenforceable.
(h) For the purpose of this section, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
(1) “Chief legal officer” has the same meaning as in Ohio R.C. 733.621.
(2) “Public contract” means any of the following:
A. The purchase or acquisition, or a contract for the purchase or acquisition, of property or services by or for the use of the state or any of its political subdivisions, or any agency or instrumentality of either, including the employment of an individual by the state, any of its political subdivisions, or any agency or instrumentality of either.
B. A contract for the design, construction, alteration, repair, or maintenance of any public property.
(ORC 2921.42)
(a) No public servant shall knowingly solicit or accept and no person shall knowingly promise or give to a public servant either of the following:
(1) Any compensation, other than as allowed by Ohio R.C. 102.03(G), (H), (I), or other provisions of law, to perform the public servant’s official duties, to perform any other act or service in the public servant’s public capacity, for the general performance of the duties of the public servant’s public office or public employment, or as a supplement to the public servant’s public compensation.
(2) Additional or greater fees or costs than are allowed by law to perform the public servant’s official duties.
(b) No public servant for the public servant’s own personal or business use and no person for the person’s own personal or business use or for the personal or business use of a public servant or party official, shall solicit or accept anything of value in consideration of either of the following:
(1) Appointing or securing, maintaining, or renewing the appointment of any person to any public office, employment, or agency.
(2) Preferring, or maintaining the status of, any public employee with respect to compensation, duties, placement, location, promotion, or other material aspects of employment.
(c) No person for the benefit of a political party, campaign committee, legislative campaign fund, political action committee or political contributing entity shall coerce any contribution in consideration of either of the following:
(1) Appointing or securing, maintaining, or renewing the appointment of any person to any public office, employment, or agency.
(2) Preferring, or maintaining the status of, any public employee with respect to compensation, duties, placement, location, promotion, or other material aspects of employment.
(d) Whoever violates this section is guilty of soliciting improper compensation, a misdemeanor of the first degree.
(e) A public servant who is convicted of a violation of this section is disqualified from holding any public office, employment, or position of trust in this state for a period of seven years from the date of conviction.
(f) Divisions (a), (b), and (c) of this section do not prohibit any person from making voluntary contributions to a political party, campaign committee, legislative campaign fund, political action committee or political contributing entity or prohibit a political party, campaign committee, legislative campaign fund, political action committee or political contributing entity from accepting voluntary contributions.
(ORC 2921.43)
(a) No law enforcement officer shall negligently do any of the following:
(1) Fail to serve a lawful warrant without delay.
(2) Fail to prevent or halt the commission of an offense or to apprehend an offender, when it is in the law enforcement officer’s power to do so alone or with available assistance.
(b) No law enforcement, ministerial, or judicial officer shall negligently fail to perform a lawful duty in a criminal case or proceeding.
(c) No officer, having charge of a detention facility, shall negligently do any of the following:
(1) Allow the detention facility to become littered or unsanitary.
(2) Fail to provide persons confined in the detention facility with adequate food, clothing, bedding, shelter, and medical attention.
(3) Fail to control an unruly prisoner, or to prevent intimidation of or physical harm to a prisoner by another.
(4) Allow a prisoner to escape.
(5) Fail to observe any lawful and reasonable regulation for the management of the detention facility.
(d) No public official shall recklessly create a deficiency, incur a liability, or expend a greater sum than is appropriated by the Council for the use in any one year of the department, agency, or institution with which the public official is connected.
(e) No public servant shall recklessly fail to perform a duty expressly imposed by law with respect to the public servant’s office, or recklessly do any act expressly forbidden by law with respect to the public servant’s office.
(f) Whoever violates this section is guilty of dereliction of duty, a misdemeanor of the second degree.
(g) Except as otherwise provided by law, a public servant who is a county treasurer; county auditor; township fiscal officer; city auditor; city treasurer; village fiscal officer; village clerk-treasurer; village clerk; in the case of a municipal corporation having a charter that designates an officer who, by virtue of the charter, has duties and functions similar to those of the city or village officers referred to in this section, the officer so designated by the charter; school district treasurer; fiscal officer of a community school established under Ohio R.C. Chapter 3314; treasurer of a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics school established under Ohio R.C. Chapter 3326; or fiscal officer of a college-preparatory boarding school established under Ohio R.C. Chapter 3328 and is convicted of or pleads guilty to dereliction of duty is disqualified from holding any public office, employment, or position of trust in this state for four years following the date of conviction or of entry of the plea, and is not entitled to hold any public office until any repayment or restitution required by the court is satisfied.
(h) As used in this section, “public servant” includes the following:
(1) An officer or employee of a contractor as defined in Ohio R.C. 9.08;
(2) A fiscal officer employed by the operator of a community school established under Ohio R.C. Chapter 3314 or by the operator of a college-preparatory boarding school established under Ohio R.C. Chapter 3328.
(ORC 2921.44)
(a) No public servant, under color of the public servant’s office, employment, or authority, shall knowingly deprive, or conspire or attempt to deprive any person of a constitutional or statutory right.
(b) Whoever violates this section is guilty of interfering with civil rights, a misdemeanor of the first degree.
(R.C. § 2921.45)
Statutory reference:
Restraining or confining pregnant children or pregnant women, see R.C. § 2152.75(B) and R.C. § 2901.10
(a) For the purpose of this section, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
(1) “Federal law enforcement officer.” An employee of the United States who serves in a position the duties of which are primarily the investigation, apprehension, or detention of individuals suspected or convicted of offenses under the criminal laws of the United States.
(2) “Impersonate.” To act the part of, assume the identity of, wear the uniform or any part of the uniform of, or display the identification of a particular person or of a member of a class of persons with purpose to make another person believe that the actor is that particular person or is a member of that class of persons.
(3) “Investigator of the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation.” Has the same meaning as in Ohio R.C. 2903.11.
(4) “Peace officer.” A Sheriff, Deputy Sheriff, Marshal, Deputy Marshal, member of the organized police department of a municipal corporation or township constable, who is employed by a political subdivision of this state; a member of a police force employed by a metropolitan housing authority under Ohio R.C. 3735.31(D); a member of a police force employed by a regional transit authority under Ohio R.C. 306.35(Y); a state university law enforcement officer appointed under Ohio R.C. 3345.04; a veterans’ home police officer appointed under Ohio R.C. 5907.02; a special police officer employed by a port authority under Ohio R.C. 4582.04 or 4582.28; an officer, agent or employee of the state or any of its agencies, instrumentalities or political subdivisions, upon whom, by statute, a duty to conserve the peace or to enforce all or certain laws is imposed and the authority to arrest violators is conferred, within limits of that statutory duty and authority; or a State Highway Patrol trooper whose primary duties are to preserve the peace, to protect life and property and to enforce the laws, ordinances or rules of the state or any of its political subdivisions.
(5) “Private police officer.” Any security guard, special police officer, private detective, or other person who is privately employed in a police capacity.
(b) No person shall impersonate a peace officer, private police officer, investigator of the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation, or federal law enforcement officer.
(c) No person, by impersonating a peace officer, private police officer, investigator of the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation, or federal law enforcement officer, shall arrest or detain any person, search any person, or search the property of any person.
(d) No person, with purpose to commit or facilitate the commission of an offense, shall impersonate a peace officer, a private police officer, federal law enforcement officer, an officer, agent or employee of the municipality or the state, or investigator of the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation.
(e) No person shall commit a felony while impersonating a peace officer, private police officer, federal law enforcement officer, an officer, agent or employee of the municipality or of the state, or investigator of the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation.
(f) It is an affirmative defense to a charge under division (b) of this section that the impersonation of the peace officer, private police officer, federal law enforcement officer, an officer, agent or employee of the municipality or of the state, or investigator of the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation was for a lawful purpose.
(g) Whoever violates division (b) of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor of the fourth degree. Whoever violates division (c) or (d) of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree. If the purpose of a violation of division (d) of this section is to commit or facilitate the commission of a felony, a violation of division (d) is a felony to be prosecuted under appropriate state law. Whoever violates division (e) of this section is guilty of a felony to be prosecuted under appropriate state law.
(ORC 2921.51)
(a) For the purpose of this section, the following definitions shall apply:
(1) “Lawfully issued.” Adopted, issued, or rendered in accordance with the United States Constitution, the constitution of a state, and the applicable statutes, rules, regulations and ordinances of the United States, a state, and the political subdivisions of a state.
(2) “Political subdivisions.” Municipal corporations, townships, counties, school districts, and all other bodies corporate and politic that are organized under state law and are responsible for governmental activities only in geographical areas smaller than that of a state.
(3) “Sham legal process.” An instrument that meets all of the following conditions:
A. It is not lawfully issued.
B. It purports to do any of the following:
1. To be a summons, subpoena, judgment, or order of a court, a law enforcement officer, or a legislative, executive or administrative body.
2. To assert jurisdiction over or determine the legal or equitable status, rights, duties, powers, or privileges of any person or property.
3. To require or authorize the search, seizure, indictment, arrest, trial, or sentencing of any person or property.
C. It is designed to make another person believe that it is lawfully issued.
(4) “State.” A state of the United States, including without limitation the state legislature, the highest court of the state that has statewide jurisdiction, the offices of all elected state officers, and all departments, boards, offices, commissions, agencies, institutions, and other instrumentalities of the state. “State” does not include the political subdivisions of the state.
(b) No person shall, knowing the sham legal process to be a sham legal process, do any of the following:
(1) Knowingly issue, display, deliver, distribute, or otherwise use sham legal process.
(2) Knowingly use sham legal process to arrest, detain, search or seize any person or the property of another person.
(3) Knowingly commit or facilitate the commission of an offense using sham legal process.
(4) Knowingly commit a felony by using sham legal process.
(c) It is an affirmative defense to a charge under division (b)(1) or (2) of this section that the use of sham legal process was for a lawful purpose.
(d) Whoever violates this section is guilty of using sham legal process. A violation of division (b)(1) of this section is a misdemeanor of the fourth degree. A violation of division (b)(2) or (b)(3) of this section is a misdemeanor of the first degree, except that if the purpose of a violation of division (b)(3) of this section is to commit or facilitate the commission of a felony, a violation of division (b)(3) of this section is a felony to be prosecuted under appropriate state law. A violation of division (b)(4) of this section is a felony to be prosecuted under appropriate state law.
(ORC 2921.52(A) - (D))
(a) No person who is not entitled to do so shall knowingly display on a motor vehicle the emblem of a law enforcement agency or an organization of law enforcement officers.
(b) Whoever violates this section is guilty of the unlawful display of the emblem of a law enforcement agency or an organization of law enforcement officers, a minor misdemeanor.
(ORC 2913.441)
(a) Safekeeping of property in custody.
(1) A. Any property that has been lost, abandoned, stolen, seized pursuant to a search warrant, or otherwise lawfully seized or forfeited and that is in the custody of the Police Department shall be kept safely by the Police Department, pending the time it no longer is needed as evidence or for another lawful purpose, and shall be disposed of pursuant to this section or Ohio R.C. 2981.12 and 2981.13.
B. This section does not apply to the custody and disposal of any of the following:
1. Vehicles subject to forfeiture under Ohio R.C. Title 45, except as provided in division (b)(1)F. of this section;
2. Abandoned junk motor vehicles or other property of negligible value;
3. Property held by a department of rehabilitation and correction institution that is unclaimed, that does not have an identified owner, that the owner agrees to dispose of, or that is identified by the department as having little value;
4. Animals taken, and devices used in unlawfully taking animals, under Ohio R.C. 1531.20;
5. Controlled substances sold by a peace officer in the performance of the officer’s official duties under Ohio R.C. 3719.141;
6. Property recovered by a township law enforcement agency under Ohio R.C. 505.105 to 505.109;
7. Property held and disposed of under an ordinance of the municipality or under Ohio R.C. 737.29 to 737.33, except that if the municipality has received notice of a citizens’ reward program as provided in division (b)(5) of this section and disposes of property under an ordinance shall pay 25% of any monies acquired from any sale or auction to the citizens’ reward program.
(2) A. The Police Department shall adopt and comply with a written internal control policy that does all of the following:
1. Provides for keeping detailed records as to the amount of property acquired by the Police Department and the date property was acquired;
2. Provides for keeping detailed records of the disposition of the property, which shall include, but not be limited to, both of the following:
a. The manner in which it was disposed, the date of disposition, detailed financial records concerning any property sold, and the name of any person who received the property. The record shall not identify or enable identification of the individual officer who seized any item of property.
b. An itemized list of the specific expenditures made with amounts that are gained from the sale of the property and that are retained by the agency, including the specific amount expended on each expenditure, except that the policy shall not provide for or permit the identification of any specific expenditure that is made in an ongoing investigation.
3. Complies with Ohio R.C. 2981.13 if the Police Department has a law enforcement trust fund or similar fund created under that section.
B. The records kept under the internal control policy shall be open to public inspection during the Police Department’s regular business hours. The policy adopted under this section is a public record open for inspection under Ohio R.C. 149.43.
(3) The Police Department, with custody of property to be disposed of under this section or Ohio R.C. 2981.12 or 2981.13, shall make a reasonable effort to locate persons entitled to possession of the property, to notify them of when and where it may be claimed, and to return the property to them at the earliest possible time. In the absence of evidence identifying persons entitled to possession, it is sufficient notice to advertise in a newspaper of general circulation in the county and to briefly describe the nature of the property in custody and inviting persons to view and establish their right to it.
(4) As used in this section:
A. “Citizens’ reward program” has the same meaning as in Ohio R.C. 9.92.
B. “Law enforcement agency” includes correctional institutions.
C. “Township law enforcement agency” means an organized police department of a township, a township police district, a joint police district, or the office of a township constable.
(ORC 2981.11)
(b) Disposition of unclaimed or forfeited property.
(1) Unclaimed or forfeited property in the custody of the Police Department, other than property described in division (a)(1)B. of this section, shall be disposed of by order of any court of record that has territorial jurisdiction over the municipality, as follows:
A. Drugs shall be disposed of pursuant to Ohio R.C. 3719.11 or placed in the custody of the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States for disposal or use for medical or scientific purposes under applicable federal law.
B. Firearms and dangerous ordnance suitable for police work may be given to a law enforcement agency for that purpose. Firearms suitable for sporting use or as museum pieces or collectors’ items may be sold at public auction pursuant to division (b)(2) of this section. The Police Department may sell other firearms and dangerous ordnance to a federally licensed firearms dealer in a manner that the court considers proper. The Police Department shall destroy any firearms or dangerous ordnance not given to a law enforcement agency or sold or shall send them to the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation for destruction by the Bureau.
C. Obscene materials shall be destroyed.
D. Beer, intoxicating liquor, or alcohol seized from a person who does not hold a permit issued under Ohio R.C. Chapters 4301 and 4303 or otherwise forfeited to the state for an offense under Ohio R.C. 4301.45 or Ohio R.C. 4301.53 shall be sold by the Division of Liquor Control if the Division determines that it is fit for sale or shall be placed in the custody of the Investigations Unit in the Ohio Department of Public Safety and be used for training relating to law enforcement activities. The Ohio Department of Public Safety, with the assistance of the Division of Liquor Control, shall adopt rules in accordance with Ohio R.C. Chapter 119 to provide for the distribution to state or local law enforcement agencies upon their request. If any tax imposed under Ohio R.C. Title 43 has not been paid in relation to the beer, intoxicating liquor, or alcohol, any monies acquired from the sale shall first be used to pay the tax. All other money collected under this division (b)(1)D. shall be paid into the State Treasury. Any beer, intoxicating liquor, or alcohol that the Division determines to be unfit for sale shall be destroyed.
E. Money received by an inmate of a correctional institution from an unauthorized source or in an unauthorized manner shall be returned to the sender, if known, or deposited in the inmates’ industrial and entertainment fund of the institution if the sender is not known.
F. 1. Any mobile instrumentality forfeited under Ohio R.C. Chapter 2981 may be given to the law enforcement agency that initially seized the mobile instrumentality for use in performing its duties, if the agency wants the mobile instrumentality. The agency shall take the mobile instrumentality subject to any security interest or lien on the mobile instrumentality.
2. Vehicles and vehicle parts forfeited under Ohio R.C. 4549.61 to 4549.63 may be given to a law enforcement agency for use in performing its duties. Those parts may be incorporated into any other official vehicle. Parts that do not bear vehicle identification numbers or derivatives of them may be sold or disposed of as provided by rules of the Director of Public Safety. Parts from which a vehicle identification number or derivative of it has been removed, defaced, covered, altered, or destroyed and that are not suitable for police work or incorporation into an official vehicle shall be destroyed and sold as junk or scrap.
G. Computers, computer networks, computer systems, and computer software suitable for police work may be given to a law enforcement agency for that purpose or disposed of under division (b)(2) of this section.
H. Money seized in connection with a violation of Ohio R.C. 2905.32, 2907.21, or 2907.22 shall be deposited in the Victims of Human Trafficking Fund created by Ohio R.C. 5101.87.
(2) Unclaimed or forfeited property that is not described in division (b)(1) of this section or division (a)(1)B. of this section, with court approval, may be used by the law enforcement agency in possession of it. If it is not used by the agency, it may be sold without appraisal at a public auction to the highest bidder for cash or disposed of in another manner that the court considers proper.
(3) Except as provided in divisions (b)(1) and (b)(5) of this section and after compliance with division (b)(4) of this section when applicable, any monies acquired from the sale of property disposed of pursuant to this section shall be placed in the general revenue fund of the state, or the general fund of the municipality.
(4) If the property was in the possession of the Police Department in relation to a delinquent child proceeding in a juvenile court, 10% of any moneys acquired from the sale of property disposed of under this section shall be applied to one or more community addiction services providers, as defined in Ohio R.C. 5119.01. A juvenile court shall not specify a services provider, except as provided in this division, unless the services provider is in the same county as the court or in a contiguous county. If no services provider is located in any of those counties, the juvenile court may specify a services provider anywhere in Ohio. The remaining 90% of the proceeds or cash shall be applied as provided in division (b)(3) of this section.
(5) A. If the Board of County Commissioners recognizes a citizens’ reward program under Ohio R.C. 9.92, the Board shall notify the Police Department of the recognition by filing a copy of its resolution conferring that recognition with the Police Department. When the Board recognizes a citizens’ reward program and the county includes a part, but not all, of the territory of the municipality, the Board shall so notify the Police Department of the recognition of the citizens’ reward program only if the county contains the highest percentage of the municipality’s population.
B. Upon being so notified, the Police Department shall pay 25% of any forfeited proceeds or cash derived from each sale of property disposed of pursuant to this section to the citizens’ reward program for use exclusively to pay rewards. No part of the funds may be used to pay expenses associated with the program. If a citizens’ reward program that operates in more than one county or in another state in addition to this state receives funds under this section, the funds shall be used to pay rewards only for tips and information to law enforcement agencies concerning offenses committed in the county from which the funds were received.
(6) Any property forfeited under Ohio R.C. Chapter 2981 not be used to pay any fine imposed upon a person who is convicted of or pleads guilty to an underlying criminal offense or a different offense arising out of the same facts and circumstances.
(7) Any moneys acquired from the sale of personal effects, tools, or other property seized because the personal effects, tools, or other property were used in the commission of a violation of Ohio R.C. 2905.32, 2907.21, or 2907.22 or derived from the proceeds of the commission of a violation of Ohio R.C. 2905.32, 2907.21, or 2907.22 and disposed of pursuant to this division (b) shall be placed in the Victims of Human Trafficking Fund created by Ohio R.C. 5101.87.
(ORC 2981.12)
(c) Disposition of contraband, proceeds, or instrumentalities. Except as otherwise provided in Ohio R.C. 2981.13, property ordered forfeited as contraband, proceeds, or an instrumentality pursuant to Ohio R.C. Chapter 2981 shall be disposed of, used, or sold pursuant to division (b) of this section or Ohio R.C. 2981.12. If the property is to be sold under division (b) of this section or Ohio R.C. 2981.12, the prosecutor shall cause notice of the proposed sale to be given in accordance with law.
(ORC 2981.13(A))
Statutory reference:
Forfeiture of property generally, see R.C. Chapter 2981
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