Peaceful protesters, not destructive rioters, receiving settlement
The Dispatch chose to lead letters to the editor about the proposed $5.75 million with a letter that demonstrated the clear disdain for facts and embrace of emotions that has divided Americans to the point that a public discussion of important issues is nearly impossible.
The letter asserts “that of the many thousands of people who rioted, looted and destroyed several places of business, only 32 suffered injuries that merited filing lawsuits seeking financial relief.”
Thousands of people did not riot. Thousands of people peacefully protested, as is their right under our First Amendment. At most, several hundred people criminally damaged property. No places of business were “destroyed.”
The rioters should be prosecuted. Several have been. More could be if bystanders with knowledge of their identity communicate that information to the police.
The 32 people who filed suit say they were peacefully protesting when police injured them; if so, they are entitled to compensation.
Unfortunately, the businesses that suffered damages were injured by rioters, not the police officers who were there to protect their property.
If the business owners believe the city was negligent in how it provided that protection, then they have a moral claim for compensation though not likely a legally enforceable claim.
As a longtime resident of Columbus, it is dismaying that $5.75 million of our tax dollars may be spent because police officers injured peaceful protesters. But distorting the facts and lighting the fires of emotions won’t make the lawsuits go away.
Instead, all residents of our city should come together to find solutions to the racial inequalities that plague our non-white communities, to make police officers who violate the law or the department’s code of conduct responsible for their actions, and to find ways for the community to work with police to reduce violent crime and to make every Columbus neighborhood a safe place to live and raise a family.
Mark Abel, Columbus