Protesters hijack meeting for 2 hours
Protesters took over a Columbus City Council meeting Monday night for nearly two hours, repeating demands that the city fire officers they say were captured on video beating a man police said was resisting arrest.
As council members voted on routine ordinances, more than 100 people who had packed council chambers began to chant: “What do we have to lose but our chains.”
Several marched to the podium, where they asked for
answers to demands issued last week and told council members that the video of the arrest of Timothy Davis, 31, by plainclothes officers in a South Side convenience store Sept. 1 builds on a pattern of Columbus police violence against black men. A citizen’s cellphone video showed officers using profanity and one officer punching him repeatedly during a struggle to arrest Davis, who resisted police instructions to put his hands behind his back.
“Until you deal with the fact that you have a rogue police force terrorizing a neighborhood, we will continue to sit in these seats and demand justice,” said Tammy Fournier Alsaada, an organizer with the People’s Justice Project.
Columbus Police Chief Kim Jacobs assigned one of the responding officers, Joseph Bogard, to desk duty after his body camera captured him saying he would choke someone who resisted being handcuffed.
Davis’ mother, Valerie Johnson, said during a news conference before the meeting that her son’s kidney was damaged during the arrest and pleaded to have him moved to a hospital.
“He doesn’t need to be in a jail hospital. He needs to be in a hospital where he can get some help,” she said.
Council members sat silently during the demonstration as protesters took turns speaking at the podium. They chanted and, at times, argued with one another.
At the end, Alsaada asked for a response to demands issued last week that included firing the officers involved and Jacobs.
Council President Zach Klein said he would respond to some of the issues and directed the public safety director and a police representative to answer others, but the demonstrators cut him off and said they did not want to hear from police.
Klein told The Dispatch after the meeting that he has confidence in Jacobs and the police, and the city will continue to try to improve the relationship between the police and minority communities.
“But whether it’s me as an elected official, a member of the Columbus police department, or any other department, there is always room for growth,” he said.
The council also agreed Monday to take a $2 million state loan to help pay for converting 52,853 streetlights to LED equivalents. The 15-year loan will cover a portion of the $3.5 million to $4.5 million for the first phase of the approximately $40 million project expected to take several years. The city expects the conversion to save about $2 million a year on its energy bill.
The council also approved two tax-incentive agreements on Monday:
Valhalla Holdings, parent company of Woda Construction, plans to spend about $2.5 million to consolidate its Westerville and Columbus operations into one office at 500 S. Front St. in Columbus. The council approved an income-tax incentive worth between $161,030 and $193,240 over five years for the company once it moves. Columbus expects the company to bring about 100 new jobs to the city.
Benderson Development Company received a 10-year, 75 percent property tax abatement worth about $1.8 million for 268,000 square feet of “light industrial/flex facilities” it plans to build in the 6000 block of Tussing Road. It expects to create 20 new full-time jobs. The company does not have a tenant for the buildings.