Youngstown Police Chief Robin Lees fired back at Congressman Tim Ryan in response to a letter Ryan signed that was critical of police.

In the letter sent to Attorney General William Barr dated June 23, it described police brutality and violence as being the leading cause of death among young men, particularly Black men who are three times more likely to be killed by police than their white peers.

This was in reference to a writing by the National Academy of Science from 2019, which was listed in the footnotes of the letter. 

Ryan and 17 other members of Congress signed the letter, which also stated, "We have seen time and time again the institutional bias within our criminal justice system and the continuous increase of deaths by police."

In Chief Lees' letter sent to the congressman on Friday, he said that statement is "blatantly untrue," and he is angry and offended by the allegations set forth in the document. 

"In data collected by the FBI, the number of persons killed by police annually is fairly consistent with small variances from year to year," according to Lees' letter. "Then, to make a statement that 'police brutality and violence is the leading cause of death among young men,' is outrageous! No rebuttal to such a ridiculous statement is even necessary."

Lees went on to say in his letter that the rest of the accusations lack proper context.

"I reviewed the footnotes provided and they amount to a lot of convoluted crap," wrote Lees. "Did you even read the references? I suspect a staffer collected the information to support the narrative." 

In the letter to the attorney general, the group of congresspeople is immediately asking for:

• Support of efforts to eliminate the use of force, conduct stringent oversight and investigations and to hold individual law enforcement officers and police departments accountable for police brutality, racial profiling and violence
• The Department of Justice to reinstitute its authority to investigate individual instances of police brutality, racial profiling as well as police departments that repeatedly violate civil rights
• Development of an immersive, real-life, scenario-based training curriculum that reflects and prepares officers for unique challenges and prioritizes improving community-police relations, de-escalation and crisis intervention and alternatives to use of deadly force

Chief Lees rebutted those calls, saying that it's clear Ryan does not know anything about current law enforcement training or standards that are practiced in the district he represents.

"You never took time to ask or research this matter before sending this insulting letter," wrote Lees. 

The chief went on to say that Vice President Mike Pence took the time after visiting the Lordstown Motors Corporation plant to visit the Youngstown Police Department. 

"Vice President Pence offered words of encouragement and support to our officers and recognized that YPD is a professional organization with its high standards of training and community engagement," Lees' letter detailed.

Ryan responded to Lees by saying the following:

"I have much respect for Chief Lees and all the sacrifices that our police officers and their families make every day. I have fought hard for their collective bargaining rights, brought back federal money for equipment and to hire more cops on the beat. Many of these officers are my longtime friends.

"These are not easy conversations, but I have recently spoken to the head of the Ohio FOP and we had a very productive discussion on how we can improve our criminal justice system in America and keep officers and community members safe. I look forward to continuing that discussion with the men and women uniform as well as the leaders in communities of color here in Ohio and across the country," said Rep. Ryan.

Both letters can be fully read below. 

 

Congressman Ryan's republican competitor for the 13th district, Christina Hagan, went to Twitter Saturday to let her thoughts be known on the matter.

Ohio's Fraternal Order of Police President Gary Wolske also sent a letter to Congressman Ryan and Congresswoman Joyce Beatty, who represents Ohio's 3rd district and also signed the letter.

You can find that letter here.

21 News has reached out to Congressman Ryan's Communications Director for a statement but has not heard back.