**In the video, above, Gov. DeWine talks about the vaccine lottery**

COLUMBUS (WCMH) — Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost wants the state to give $1,000 in federal funds to each police officer who worked during the pandemic.

In a letter to Governor Mike DeWine, Speaker Bob Cupp, and President Matt Huffman, Yost called the pandemic’s effect on law enforcement “particularly debilitating.”

Unable to work from home or avoid contact with others, officers were required for months to continue to perform the essential functions of their job without the benefit of a home office or six feet of distance

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost

Yost proposed creating a Law Enforcement Support Program within his office that would be funded by the federal government through the American Rescue Plan.

“We propose making at least $1,000 in premium pay available to all eligible law enforcement officers in Ohio who served during the pandemic,” Yost wrote.

Such a use of federal funds is permissible, according to Yost, and he cited the state of Florida’s similar compensation program as an example.

The Attorney General said he is seeking the support of Governor DeWine, Speaker Cupp, and President Huffman, and said he is open to “expanding this idea to other first responders.”

Read the entire letter by clicking the download button.