COLUMBUS – Faced with criticism of how police officers handled downtown protests and calls for his own resignation, Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther says it’s time to move from “20th century law enforcement to a 21st century” model of community policing that protects every resident of the city.
During a live-streamed address to the city Wednesday, the Democratic mayor said he had been disturbed by images of officers pepper spraying demonstrators, media and elected officials.
“Let me be clear: Some of these images and videos don’t live up to my expectations, or our community’s expectations – of police, and of each other,” Ginther said.
Ginther says the city will hire an independent investigator to review the response to protests that began in late May, spurred by the death of George Floyd, a Black man, in police custody.
Ginther has also defended the actions of officer who deployed pepper spray to move protesters from streets.
Faced with widespread criticism of officers’ actions and relations with the community, Ginther vowed to have a working group formed next week to plan a Civilian Review Board he vowed would be in place by the end of the year, regardless of how contract negotiations go with the police officers’ union.
He said residents are demanding better recruiting, training and accountability of officers and he called on the Fraternal Order of Police to contribute to the reforms.
“You’re either with us or you’re against the community. I hope you will be with us,” he said.
Ginther says the city has set up a hotline to investigate community complaints, will hire an independent law firm to investigate complaints that may call for discipline and a law enforcement entity outside of the Division of Police to review complaints that may result in criminal charges.
Columbus City Council members will outline reform measures and take public input on the 2021 budgets and a process to change the city’s approach to public safety.
A Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday shows more than 80% of voters in central Ohio approve of the way police in their communities are doing their job, but there’s an important disconnect.
“If you look down between the lines, you’ll find that the vast majority of Black voters in this state are worried about police violence,” poll analyst Tim Malloy said.
Sixty percent of Black voters say they are worried about police violence, compared with only 9% of white voters.
According to the poll 57% of voters in Central Ohio approve of the Black Lives Matter movement.