Officers rally for colleague accused of stomp
Inside a union hall on the Northeast Side, law enforcement officers joined together Thursday to show support for Columbus Police Officer Zachary Rosen.
Rosen, 32, is accused of stomping once with his left foot on a suspect who was lying stomach down and handcuffed at the end of a driveway in Linden. The suspect, Demarko Anderson, is accused of shooting up a house and assaulting another officer in the April 8 incident.
On Thursday morning, Rosen appeared before Columbus Public Safety Director Ned Pettus for a hearing. Pettus did not issue a decision and it’s unclear when that will happen.
Columbus Police Chief Kim Jacobs cited Rosen for violating the division’s use of force policy. Last week, she recommended a 24-work-hour, or three-day, suspension.
Fraternal Order of Police Capital City Lodge No. 9 members, have rallied in the past to protest or show support for issues. This is the first time it’s been done for an officer though, said Jason Pappas, lodge president.
“From a peer perspective, we wanted to let Officer Rosen know that not just his union supported him but his fellow officers supported him,” he said of the approximately 150 officers in attendance.
The stomp, which was captured on video and showed the suspect’s head bouncing off the driveway, quickly sparked community outcry, prompting Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther to publicly denounce Rosen’s actions in a matter of hours. Pappas said Ginther’s comments tainted the handling of the investigation.
“We’re sending the message that that’s not going to be tolerated,” he said.
The mayor’s office declined to comment.
Pettus has the option of upholding Jacobs’ recommendation, increasing the discipline — up to terminating him — or ruling that Rosen acted within policy. Community leaders, including the NAACP president, have called for Rosen to be fired.
The mayor’s comments will likely influence the outcome, Pappas said.
“So the mayor appoints the safety director and police chief. And he publicly stated, this officer did not live up to our core values or whatever he said,” Pappas said. “I don’t know how you get around that if you’re the upper administration. You’re being told by your boss, ‘ This is out of line. Do something about it.’”
Rosen will likely appeal and take his case to an arbitrator in hopes of getting it overturned, Pappas said.
Rosen was one of two officers working undercover who shot and killed 23-yearold Henry Green last year. Rosen fired 15 shots in that incident. A grand jury found no cause to indict the officers. A police review board is still examining how they responded.
Alex Kistner, 29, an FOP member who has worked on patrol in Linden with Rosen for years, said he knows a different officer than the one that has been publicly portrayed.
Rosen was awarded the city’s highest police honor — the medal of valor — after saving a man’s life at a crash scene several years ago. In his last review, Rosen told supervisors he wanted to become a field training officer so he can train new officers or join a tactical team.
“He puts his life on the line for people everyday. I think that speaks of his character,” Kistner said. “He’s a hero. He’s someone I look up to.”