After 44 years of service, Pettus retires as public safety director
Ends career that includes becoming Columbus’ first Black fire chief
After 44 years of service with the city of Columbus – including the last five as its public safety director – Ned Pettus Jr. officially retired Wednesday.
The city had previously announced in July that Pettus intended to retire by the end of August, but didn’t reveal the specific day until Tuesday.
Pettus, 69, is using vacation time this week and was unavailable for media interviews, a spokesman for the Columbus Department of Public Safety said Tuesday.
Mayor Andrew J. Ginther’s office had not responded by early Wednesday afternoon to a request from The Dispatch for information about the process and timeline for replacing Pettus.
In a series of video clips prepared by the city and posted on the city’s Department of Public Safety Youtube page, Pettus reflected on his career, including the discrimination he overcame in order to rise through the chain of command.
“At each promotion and at each rank, I always had to do more than my predecessor,” Pettus said in one video interview prepared by the city. “It caused
within me for it to be important for me to work from the inside to help make the positive changes that need to be made.”
In another video, Pettus describes his challenges and accomplishments, including the city Division of Fire earning one of its first international accreditations during his 10 years as chief.
Growing up in South Linden, Ned Pettus Jr. had difficulty imagining that a career in public safety was obtainable for a Black teenager such as himself.
The son of sharecroppers who moved from Alabama to Ohio in 1949, Pettus has said he grew up poor in Columbus. One year ago, Pettus returned with The Dispatch to the East 20th Avenue home where he spent his formative years and revealed that it was neighborhood basketball games with a Black firefighter that made him realize his potential.
“We thought he was fantastic,” Pettus said at the time, adding jokingly, “but not so much that we let them win the basketball games.”
A graduate of Linden Mckinley High School, Pettus joined the ranks of the Columbus Division of Fire as a firefighter in 1977, sparking a four-decade-long career in public safety. He went on to become the city’s first Black fire chief in 2002.
Ginther appointed Pettus to the role of director of public safety in August 2016.
Since then, Pettus has overseen the implementation of body cameras for Columbus police, installation and expansion of the Shotspotter gunfire-detection system, the replacement of two fire stations, and the opening of both a new fire station and a new police substation.
He also helped establish a cadet program aimed at boosting diversity among the ranks of city and central Ohio firefighters.
“We have pursued continuous improvement,” Pettus said in one video. “We’ve been getting some things done that have never been done before.”
During his tenure, Pettus oversaw leadership changes in both the police and fire divisions, including the appointment of Jeffrey Happ as fire chief in early 2021 and the appointment of Tracy Smith, the city’s first female assistant chief for fire.
More recently, Pettus appointed Elaine Bryant as the chief of the Columbus Division of Police. When Bryant, 48, stepped into the role in July, she became the division’s first Black woman leader and the first external candidate chosen to help the division.
But Pettus’ tenure as public safety director has not been free of scrutiny and criticism, especially over the actions of some police and fire employees he led.
Pettus oversaw the firing of Adam Coy, the former Columbus police officer who last December fatally shot 47-yearold Andre Hill, an unarmed Black man, as he exited a home where he was an invited guest. Hill’s death drew both local and national outcry. Coy is awaiting trial on a murder charge.
It was just once instance in which the police division has recently garnered public criticism.
In April, the shooting death of 16year-old Ma’khia Bryant by officer Nicholas Reardon as she appeared to be trying to stab a young woman in a dispute outside a foster home where Bryant and her sister resided, similarly drew outrage.
And the city’s response to protests during the summer of 2020 ignited by the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, resulted in a federal judge saying officers “ran amok” in a ruling that barred officers from using chemical sprays or non-lethal force to break up peaceful, non-violent protests.
The city Division of Fire also didn’t escape scrutiny during Pettus’ leadership when a scandal emerged in 2020 involving the alleged falsifying of payroll documents.
In addition, Pettus has headed the public safety department at a time when Columbus is dealing with rising gun violence that has expanded across the city, including Downtown and Short North destination areas for out-of-towners, a record year of homicides in 2020 and the likelihood that record will be shattered again this year.
In the city-prepared videos, Pettus addressed the divide between first-responders and the public that shooting and crowd-control incidents involving officers can create, but he implored Columbus
residents to support their police officers and firefighters.
“There are individuals in both police and fire who are probably not suitable to work in that capacity and we need to continuously work to identify, help and remove those who are not suitable to serve,” Pettus said in one video. “But it’s not all of them and it’s a disservice and it’s discouraging to paint with a broad brush and a broad stroke.”
As he prepares to leave the city Department of Public Safety he helped define for decades, Pettus said he hopes he did his part to pave the way for the next generation of police officers and firefighters.
“You don’t make everyone happy when you consistently pursue what’s right,” Pettus said in one video. “If it’s the right thing to do, it still must be done.”
Even now, Pettus said he still can’t believe that the young boy from Linden ascended to the level of leadership that he did.
“Never in my wildest dreams did I expect it, much less to rise to the top,” Pettus said in the video.
“I never expected to rise to the level that I have and to have been a part of this city’s leadership and to have been the first African American fire chief, to have made history here ... I just thank God for the opportunity.”
Eric Lagatta is a reporter at the Columbus Dispatch covering public safety, breaking news and social justice issues. Reach him at elagatta@dispatch.com. Follow him on Twitter @Ericlagatta