More than 48 hours after shots were fired inside the emergency room of a Westerville hospital, Columbus police identified two officers who had discharged their weapons and body camera footage of the incident was released.
Miles Jackson, 27, of Columbus Northwest Side, was killed in an exchange of gunfire with officers at Mount Carmel St. Ann s medical center. Columbus police on Wednesday afternoon identified officers Andrew Howe and Ryan Krichbaum, both 15-year veterans, as officers who were involved in the shooting.
Westerville police Chief Charles Chandler said Monday that at least one St. Ann s security officer also had fired a weapon. St. Ann s has refused to identify any of its four officers involved in the incident, citing privacy and the ongoing investigation into the shooting being led by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
A majority of those who participated in a study commissioned by the city of Columbus believe that social service and mental health professionals could respond to many of the non-violent 911 calls now routinely handled by police.
That conclusion was among the findings presented Tuesday night by a company hired by the city to gauge public opinion on law enforcement and safety. The Saunders PR Group, a Columbus public relations consulting firm, spent weeks gathering feedback from community members through a series of virtual town halls, more than a dozen focus groups, and a community survey with nearly 4,000 participants.
The results were revealed during the latest Reimagining Public Safety” virtual town hall hosted Tuesday by the Columbus City Council. Overwhelmingly, the firm reported, respondents favored investing in community resources that would alleviate the Columbus Division of Police of the burden of responding to every emergency, said Gayle Saunders, founder a
Columbus City Council amends budget to not include pause on police recruitment
City Council President Shannon Hardin was initially looking at pausing police recruitment until the results of a hiring audit came back. Author: Olivia Ugino (WBNS) Updated: 11:23 AM EST February 23, 2021
COLUMBUS, Ohio City Council President Shannon Hardin was initially looking at pausing police recruitment until the results of a hiring audit came back. But he says the concern was the council wouldn t have enough votes to approve the budget.
For the budget to pass, you need six out of seven votes. If the council didn t have enough votes, he says it would have delayed the entire budget for a month.
Not today.
Last week, Mayor Andrew J. Ginther did something unexpected and refreshing. He bucked the Columbus City Council, albeit politely, and he sided with Columbus police.
Surprising, yes?
In a budget meeting Thursday morning, Council President Shannon Hardin introduced a budget amendment that would divert into other programs the $2.5 million slated to pay for a recruit class scheduled for June, a move that would, temporarily at least, shut down the process of hiring new police officers beyond the most-recent recruit class.
That most-recent class, which included 39 future Columbus police officers, graduated on Friday.
Final action on the $964 million, general fund budget appropriation was tabled until at least Feb. 22, but Hardin said the decision to suspend future recruit classes was warranted while the city looks for a new police chief and reexamines policing in Columbus.
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A former Columbus, Ohio, police officer is indicted for shooting and killing a Black man last December. The death of Andre Hill prompted the Columbus City Council to unanimously pass Andre’s Law. I am in full support of Andre s Law to strengthen options for holding police officers accountable for what they do – and fail to do, said Mayor Andrew J. Ginther in a press release from the City Council. “An early detection system to identify officers who may be in crisis will go a long way in helping officers with the rigors of police work.
City Council President