On the Job 

To better serve law enforcement agencies and municipalities around the state, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation has created a stand-alone unit dedicated to investigating shootings and other critical use-of-force incidents involving law enforcement officers.

But the creation of the Force Investigations Unit (FIU) serves another important function, as well.
Because BCI’s Special Investigations Unit is no longer tasked with investigating officer-involved shootings, SIU agents will be able to devote even more time to assisting local law enforcement with other types of cases, including homicides, public corruption, financial crimes, and voter fraud.

Use-of-force cases are complex and time-consuming, even more so if they involve a fatality. They typically include a large amount of evidence to process and numerous witnesses to interview.

A BCI analysis of 2023 investigations found that each case took an average of 320 work hours to complete. And, because the cases are typically in the media spotlight, the public’s demand for quick answers is often intense.

“In an officer-involved shooting, we want to have everything that’s within our control done within the first 90 days,” said BCI Assistant Superintendent Mark Kollar.

To ensure that these cases continue to be investigated to the highest standards and in a timely manner, BCI created the FIU. An increasing volume of requests by local law enforcement agencies for independent, third-party investigations ultimately prompted the move.

The numbers tell the tale.

In 2019, Attorney General Dave Yost’s first year in the elected office, BCI accepted requests from law enforcement agencies and municipalities to investigate 26 officer-involved shooting incidents. The following year, BCI was asked to investigate 50 cases, nearly double the number of the previous year.
Since then, requests for independent investigations have only increased, with BCI averaging more than 63 OICI cases a year since 2020.

Overall, since 2019 — including 29 cases in 2025 (as of July 16) — BCI has investigated 358 officer-involved critical incidents and established itself as a national leader in such investigations.

According to Kollar, the bureau conducts about 85% to 90% of the officer-involved shooting investigations statewide — what he calls “the new normal” for the agency.

“In recent years, public officials, the general public and law enforcement alike have realized the benefits of third-party independent investigations,” Kollar said. “That in turn, has led to many agencies that previously conducted their own use-of-force investigations to begin requesting BCI to carry out those investigations.”

The Force Investigations Unit is made up of two teams, each with nine agents and a special agent supervisor. One team covers the northern half of Ohio; the other, the southern half. (See map on cover).

Having a unit that handles only OICI investigations will, most notably, help expedite turnaround time, Kollar said. Additionally, FIU agents will receive even more in-depth training because they’ll be specializing in only one type of investigation.

As a whole, Kollar said, the changes should drastically decrease the turnaround time on all types of investigations — including those done by SIU — and allow the bureau to give even greater attention to the needs of Ohio’s law enforcement agencies.