Video raises questions about police actions at protest
Columbus police officials are examining videos on social media and from police body cameras to determine what happened Friday when a woman was
either dumped or fell out of a wheelchair as police were clearing protesters from a Downtown building.
Atticus Garden of Columbus posted an eight-second video on his Facebook page Friday night that shows Alisa Grishman of Pittsburgh falling forward out of a wheelchair as a Columbus police officer holds the bar on the back of the chair. When Grishman hits the floor, the female officer walks away. The video went viral over the weekend, with some national news media picking it up.
denounced Rosen’s actions early on.
“The safety director was unable to consider this case fairly,” Jason
Pappas, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Capital City Lodge No. 9, said in a statement. “Mayor Ginther — who twice spoke about this case, once before the completion of any investigation and
without reviewing any of the enhanced video, and again just prior to Officer Rosen’s hearing before the safety director — essentially directed the director, as his appointee, to fire this officer.”
Later, at a news conference at the FOP lodge, Pappas said the union will fight for Rosen’s job through arbitration. He said Rosen was fired “solely for the political purposes of the administration.”
“This union will not tolerate their brothers and sisters being used as political pawns or scapegoats for the benefit of the administration,” Pappas said.
On June 29, Rosen appeared before Columbus Public Safety Director Ned Pettus for a hearing. Columbus Police Chief Kim Jacobs had cited Rosen for violating the division’s use-of-force policy and recommended a 24-work-hour, or three-day, suspension.
It’s unclear how Pettus reached his decision to fire Rosen. The two-page decision doesn’t explain how it was reached; it only cites a specific charge of “unreasonable force” by Rosen.
“The director’s office cannot make any further comment on this decision due to potential appeals options,” Cathy Collins, assistant director of the city’s Department of Public Safety, said in a statement.
Ginther’s office released a statement supporting Pettus’ decision.
“Today’s decision was not a choice between supporting the police or supporting the community. It was about supporting fairness and due process,” Ginther said.
He later added: “In the coming weeks, there will be much discussion about this decision. What I believe we can all agree on is that every person in every neighborhood deserves to be safe. That can only happen if the Division of Police and the community they serve work together.”
The city council issued a statement accepting the termination.
“We cannot allow the behavior of one officer to undermine the positive work of the entire division,” according to the statement. “When any officer acts in a manner that violates the values, expectations and policies of our police division, it creates distrust between the community and the officers who are sworn to protect us. In fact, these actions make policing and the jobs of our officers more difficult and dangerous.”
Nana Watson, president of the NAACP’s Columbus chapter, said the group is pleased with the decision “because anything short of that would not have been acceptable.”
Pappas said Rosen was justified in using force and that the video snippet was taken out of context. He said the only question might be about the technique that Rosen used.
The next step is to take the case to an arbitrator; Rosen has 10 days to file an appeal to the Civil Service Commission.
“Everyone knows that he’s going to get his job back,” Pappas said. Rosen, who has been on the police force for more than six years, has been in high-profile incidents before. He received the Medal of Valor for saving a man in a vehicle crash several years ago.
But he also was one of two officers working undercover who shot and killed 23-year-old 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.
Attorney Sean L. Walton Jr., whose law firm is representing Green’s family in a federal civil rights lawsuit and Anderson in a civil case, issued a statement:
“The victims of the reckless acts of violence by Rosen are pleased by his termination, but are calling for more investigation into his prior acts as a Columbus Police Officer.”