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Survivors and police groups back bill to ban ticket and arrest quotas after Independence case testimony
Summary
Supporters of Senate Bill 114 told the Judiciary Committee quotas pressure officers to generate revenue, undermine trust and lead to abusive practices; former Independence patrol commander Leonard Mazzola described a quota-driven dispute that ended his career and resulted in a federal settlement.
Supporters of Senate Bill 114 urged the Ohio Senate Judiciary Committee to ban ticket and arrest quotas, saying numerical targets shift policing toward revenue generation and away from public safety.
Emily Cole of Ohio Families Unite for Political Action and Change said quotas "ensure no officer in Ohio is forced to prioritize revenue generation over public safety." Law-enforcement organizations including the Ohio Patrolmen's Benevolent Association and the Fraternal Order of Police testified in favor of the bill; George Sokolakis of the Ohio PBA said quotas are often disguised as "performance standards" and said the bill would prohibit them "no matter what they're called."
The committee also heard detailed personal testimony from Leonard Mazzola, a former patrol commander in Independence who described an internal quota policy he said required each officer to write a minimum number of tickets per month. Mazzola said the quota was implemented after the mayor and chief pressured the department to increase court revenue; he described disciplinary proceedings that followed his challenge to the policy and a federal lawsuit he filed and ultimately settled in June 2022. "Ticket quotas are unethical and immoral and need to be against the law in the state of Ohio," Mazzola said.
Mazzola and other witnesses urged anonymous reporting and investigation of quota allegations; the bill includes a provision allowing officers to report quotas anonymously to the attorney general for review. Witnesses said quotas can cause constitutional and morale problems, lead to unnecessary stops and citations, and are often motivated by municipal revenue shortfalls. The committee left SB114 at second hearing with no recorded committee vote.
