Cost of Columbus police misconduct during 2020 protests tops $615K
The cost of an administrative investigation into allegations of Columbus police misconduct during summer protests has again exceeded the contract amount approved by City Council and the price tag could continue to rise.
Bakerhostetler was given an initial contract for $50,000 last June to investigate potential police misconduct during protests and riots Downtown in summer 2020 in response to the death of George Floyd while in Minneapolis police custody.
In July, the council approved an increase in the Bakerhostetler contract to $550,000.
The cost to-date has now exceeded $615,000, Glenn Mcentyre, spokesperson for the city Department of Public Safety, said Friday. The department will have to request additional funds from city council, he said.
The Dispatch reported in December that the city had nearly used up the $550,000 as of Sept. 30.
To date, no additional requests have been made to the council for an increase in the amount of the contract and it was not clear how the additional cost would be covered.
The Bakerhostetler investigation resulted in 49 reports, some of which involved multiple complaints. Of the 49 reports, only eight involved sustained allegations and only one of the eight resulted in discipline. That officer was given documented counseling for not filing the proper paperwork.
Three allegations were withdrawn, 28 were not sustained, 19 were unfounded and five were exonerated.
There is the potential for additional investigations to take place after the completion of current investigations by Special Prosecutor Kathleen Garber and retired FBI agent and special investigator Richard Wozniak. Those investigations into potential criminal misconduct
by officers are ongoing and have cost more than $100,000 to date.
If no criminal misconduct is found in any of the 19 cases Wozniak is investigating and Garber would potentially prosecute, that allegation could be sent back to Bakerhostetler for investigation into violation of division policies.
Wozniak and Garber have tried multiple methods of getting police officer testimony to gather evidence in their probe. The most recent maneuver, issuing orders requiring six officers to sit for interviews as witness officers, resulted in a lawsuit and motion for restraining order. The investigators withdrew the Garrity orders several days later and the matter has been referred for arbitration.
Bakerhostetler was awarded a nobid contract to conduct the investigation. Multiple attorneys at the firm have previously donated to Mayor Andrew
Ginther’s campaign.
Reviews and investigations into the protests have cost almost $1 million combined, according to information provided to The Dispatch.
The Bakerhostetler investigation totals are more than $615,000, the special prosecutor and investigator have cost taxpayers in excess of $100,000 in that ongoing investigation and an after-action review being conducted by former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio Carter Stewart and the John Glenn College of Public Affairs at Ohio State University will cost about $250,000.
The after-action review was paid for in part by money from Columbus police’s drug seizure fund. About $50,000 was provided by the city for that review. bbruner@dispatch.com @bethany_bruner