The Columbus City Council appeared poised to temporarily shut down the hiring of new city police officers until a new chief is hired and an audit of past hiring practices is completed. I believe we must take the time to get the next (police recruit) class right, Council President Shannon Hardin said Thursday during a virtual budget meeting. He introduced a budget amendment to divert $2.5 million slated to pay for the new 45-officer police class scheduled for this June into anti-violence programs, medical training for officers now required by city code to offer first aid to use-of-force victims, and youth workforce development.