COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — An independent review of the city’s response to the protests following the death of George Floyd show police were unprepared tactically and unaware of the community’s regard for law enforcement. The study, undertaken by the John Glenn College of Public Affairs at Ohio State University was released today.
“The city was unprepared for what happened,” said Carter Steward, former US Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, who helped conduct the study.
The study showed police had not been trained on crowd-control tactics since 2015; that they were unprepared for how to communicate between city leaders and police brass; and that they were unaware of just how angry the community was.
“The police view was that what happened to George Floyd happened hundreds of miles away, and didn't have anything to do with us,” Stewart said. “Police felt that their relationship with the community was good.”
But the city learned last summer that wasn't the case. Stewart further described low officer morale, especially after officers heard what was described in the report as “conflicting philosophies and orders.”
“There definitely was a decrease in the morale among police officers, which probably does not help performance,” Stewart said.”
The report was blunt, saying “There is a rift between city leadership and CPD, and within CPD between command staff and rank-and-file personnel.”
But Mayor Andrew Ginther said reforming the division of police is tough work, not designed to make everyone happy.
“We've made it very clear here that we want to go from being a 20th-century law enforcement agency to a 21st Century Community Policing organization. That's a big shift,” he said.
The city requested the review and paid $250,000 for the study.
“I firmly believe that it is our responsibility as leaders to hold ourselves accountable to the residents of Columbus. This honest, objective assessment of where we have fallen short, as well as what we did correctly, is a tool for us to make real progress," said City Attorney Zach Klein in response to the report. "I hope the independent research and recommendations can serve as an opportunity for us to continue to make necessary changes to our policing protocols and city responses to bring fairness and safety to all members of our community."
City Council President Shannon G. Hardin said:
"This report helps Columbus protect residents' first amendment rights and physical safety, giving clear direction for changes to policy and practices in public safety and government oversight of police," said Hardin. "It's no secret that the police response was heavy-handed during the protests of 2020, and Council is proud that we’ve already passed a package of reforms. The City must do better, and this detailed report gives tangible recommendations on ways to improve training, communications, use of force and operational practices to protect residents and officers. We all want safe, peaceful protests to be allowed in Ohio's capital."
