John Kasich declined to weigh in Tuesday on a grand jury’s decision to not indict police officers in last year’s shooting of an unarmed 12-year-old boy in Cleveland.
But the Ohio governor argued that protesters need to have their voices heard and said he thought the U.S. Department of Justice’s continued investigation into the death of Tamir Rice was appropriate.
Kasich, who was in New Hampshire Tuesday campaigning for his presidential bid, said there will undoubtedly be protests but plans to continue with his family vacation in Florida, which begins Tuesday night.
Kasich told reporters he’s frequently in touch with local officials and said, “I will only do what local people say that I need to do,” when asked whether he’ll go back to Ohio to prepare for protests.
The governor described the death of Rice, who was holding a toy gun when killed by police last year, as a “terrible tragedy.” But Kasich called for cooler heads to prevail in the wake of the grand jury’s decision.
“The message (to protesters) is that you need to be heard,” he said. “I mean, protesting is an American way of life. We just want to make sure that protests don’t slip into something that sets everybody back.”
“There are people who probably will try to go into Cleveland who don’t live in Cleveland,” he also said. “I hope that they’re not there to cause trouble. We’re working with local law enforcement and doing everything we can, including working with community leaders, to try to get beyond this.”
Kasich said he has also asked his head of public safety to look at improving standards for dispatchers after it appeared that the dispatcher did not relay information to police that Rice was possibly brandishing a toy gun, not a real one.
He also said the chief justice of the Ohio Supreme Court is looking at whether “grand juries can be improved.”
“We need to make sure that everybody gets listened to in this,” Kasich said.
Despite the decision announced Monday, the U.S. Department of Justice said it will continue to investigate the matter. Asked whether he thinks federal involvement is appropriate, Kasich said, “Sure.”
“It’s fine for everybody to take a look at this. Clearly when you lose a 12-year-old, I mean what more can you say about how tragic it is? Imagine how the family feels, the friends of the family. It’s as tough a time as you could ever have in life,” he said. “Our hearts go out to all of them. And we’re going to keep working to try to improve this overall system.”