Mayorwants police changes to regain trust
As Columbus COLUMBUS— embarks on a new year, it leaves in its wake one of unmatched violence, of record homicides and felonious assaults. The emotions surrounding high-profile police shootings remain raw even as the calendar turns.
“Each of these shootings, homicides, assaults, is a neighbor of ours, a brother, sister, friend. And a loved one of a family in our community,” Columbus Mayor AndrewJ. Ginther said in an exclusive interview. “So our heart breaks over each and every one of them.”
Ginther spoke with The Dispatch this week about the city’s violent year, police shootings, the future of policing in Columbus and what he thinksmust happen next so that everyone can feel safe in the city that he leads.
The mayor said there is no single cause of the city’s record violence and “troubling” numberof homicides. As ofWednesday, when Ginther spoke, there were 173 homicides in 2020.
“There are a number of contributors to this,” he said. “Obviously, the global health pandemic, but then the economic crisis and human service crisis that have followed that.”
Gintheracknowledgedthat a lack of trust in lawenforcement could play a role in the violence, too.
“Some people in our community do lack trust in law enforcement and may be less likely to call lawenforcement for help and support, or toshare informationabout tips or anything they’ve witnessed in their community, because of that lack of trust,” he said.
‘Answer to the people of Columbus’
Last week, after Columbus police officer Adam Coy fatally shot Andre Hillwhile responding to a non-emergency call, a furious Ginther sharply criticized Coy and
the other responding officer, later identified as Amy Detweiler, for not turning on their body cameras until after the shooting and for not immediately rendering aid to Hill, whowas not armed.
In such situations, amayor juggles answering the public and their demands for justice with being the boss of the city’s police chief.
To Ginther, though, “it’s pretty simple.”
“I don’t answer to the division of the police,” he said. “I don’t answer to the FOP. I answer to the people of Columbus.”
Until the voter-approved civilian police reviewboard is in place, Ginther and Public Safety Director Ned Pettus Jr. conduct civilian oversight for the police division, the mayor said.
“Weknowtheoverwhelming majority of our officers are outstanding public servants, but in this case, and in cases that we have seen, where officers have not served and protected everyonein thecommunity, (have)
violatedpolicies, procedures and directives, we’re gonna hold them accountable,” Ginther said. “And that’s exactly what we’ve done in this case, and what we’ll continue to do.”
That accounta b i l i ty extends to the highest ranks of the police division, Ginther saidwhen asked about somecommunity members’ calls to fire Columbus Police Chief Thomas Quinlan.
“If we continue to learn more about howthings have been handled and the issues with in the division of police, we willmake decisions about accountability for all theofficers that are involved with things that don’t meet our expectations,” Ginther said, referring to Coy and any other officers on the scene that morningwho “showed a callous disregard for life, in this case, a Black life.”
“Anybody that was involved with that, all the way up the chains of command, we’re going to hold accountable,” Ginther said.
Addressing uptick in homicides
After a spike in homicides in 2017, the city developed itsComprehensive Neighborhood Safety Strategy involving lawenforcement, ColumbusPublicHealth, Recreation and Parks and the Department of Neighborhoods to address the uptick.
Though Ginther said that effort helped drive down homicides in the two years that followed, “based on what we’re seeing this year and the amount of youth violence, we have to come up with a different approach.”
The mayor said the city will continue to implement recommendations from the Community Safety Advisory Commission. Hisofficealso is reviewing programs the city started with federal CARES Actmoney andwill continue to fund the most successful ones into the new year, he said.
Ginther also is anticipating a study fromcriminologistDavidKennedy next year on interventions to reduce violence and improve public safety, minimize arrests and incarcerationandstrengthen police-community relations.
The mayor also hopes to expand on the ReRoute Program to reach and provide services to young people on paths that could lead to violence, and the VOICE (Violence Outreach, Intervention, Community Engagement) program to provide bedside intervention to victims of assault and gunshot wounds.
Ginther also wants to see an early detection and intervention system put in place for police officers, he said.
History of excessive force
Coy, who shot and killed Hill lastweek, had a history of complaintsandissues with excessive force. Hints that Coywas on track to be fired were documented as early as 2008, according to internal affairs investigation documents released this week.
“If there’s an officer that’s in crisis and needs additional support or help, or needs to work with the division tofind a different type of role serving the public, maybe (they should not be) in a front-facing role answering calls for service,” Ginther said. “Or, there are some people, if they can’t protect and serve everyone in the community, ought not be a police officer in the city of Columbus.”
Calls to “defund the police” and reform police departmentsswept the country in 2020. Could Columbus’ police division look different in two or three years?
“I certainly hope so,” Ginther said.
As mayor, he said, a “top priority” has been “to take us from a 20th-century law enforcement organization to a 21st-century community policing organization.”
The mayor said he is focused on “making sure we get the right response at the right time for the people of Columbus.”
He noted that his budget proposal to City Council
includes new support for social workers, mental health professionals and crisis intervention specialists, whowould respond to calls for service alongside police and fire personnel.
“I think in some respects, we’ve asked our police to solve all of our community’s problems, and I don’t think that’s fair,” he said. “And I don’t think that’s what the peopleofColumbusexpect.”
New union contract sought
The extent of change within the police division will depend heavily on a the next contract with the police union.
The most recent contract expired Dec. 8, and the city and police union are in negotiationsnowonanew one.
“We’ve got a long long list of things that we want changed,” Ginther said.
Much of the civilian review board’s operations would need to be negotiated, and Ginther said the top priority is that the board have subpoena power and the ability to make recommendations to the chief about officer discipline.
“Clearly the system failed us in the case of Zach Rosen and (Coy),” Ginther said.
Rosen was one of two plainclothes police officers who fired shots in the fatal shooting of Henry Green in 2016. Hewas later fired after hewas seen on video in 2017 stomping on a detained suspect. By March of 2018, he was reinstated.
“We need to make sure that system is fixed,” Ginther said.
As a new year dawns, Ginther said he believes the city will come together to improve after a dark 2020.
“As challenging and as difficult and as violent as this year has been, I believe that the people of Columbus are resilient — and have shown beforewhenwe’vehadhomicide and violence spikes — (will) cometogether and deal with those issues.”