Civilian Police Review Board recommends removal of member for anti-police bias

The Columbus Civilian Police Review Board voted Monday to recommend that a member be removed after he used anti-police rhetoric on social media and sought an investigation of police conduct following the canceled Holi-drag story time event in Clintonville earlier this month.

The board, tasked with civilian oversight of the Columbus Division of Police, voted to recommend removal of member Gambit S. Aragon III by a nearly unanimous vote during a special meeting Monday night. The vote came after a two-hour executive session.

Aragon was not eligible to vote. Only one board member, Kyle Strickland, voted against the removal recommendation in an 8-1 vote. There is currently one vacancy on the 11-member board.

Several of the board members said Aragon’s comments called into question his ability to maintain impartiality and credibility during board functions.

“Objectivity is essential in terms of our credibility with the community, that they expect that these cases are going to be handled in an unbiased way,” board member Richard Nathan said. “And your public statements have raised an enormous question mark for me about whether you could be unbiased.”

The vote comes in the wake of Aragon's comments regarding the Holi-drag story time event scheduled earlier this month at Red Oak Community School, which organizers canceled over safety concerns about protests organized by Ohio members of the Proud Boys and attended by some other far-right extremists.

Following the canceled event, Aragon went on social media and called Columbus police “oppressors,” criticized the drag performers for wanting Columbus police involved in the security plan, and used the hashtag “F—12,” a common phrase used in anti-police protests, including in downtown Columbus in 2020.

Board Chair Janet Jackson said that in the days following the event, Aragon suggested that the board file a complaint with the Columbus Office of the Inspector General about Columbus police conduct, without disclosing that he was "personally involved” in the planning of a community safety group for the event.

During his opportunity to address the board, Aragon said he was confident that the Civilian Police Review Board would fail to make a difference and said the members have been trained by the city using propaganda-like resources.

"I've been swimming against the stream for quite some time," Aragon said. "I don't care about convention or decorum or pretension. When human lives are at stake, I'm not a politician. I actually want to help my community."

The board's recommendation now goes to Mayor Andrew J. Ginther for action. Ginther has previously publicly called on Aragon to resign.

Ginther criticized Aragon’s comments after they were reported by The Dispatch and called for Aragon to step down from his role on the board. The mayor said in a Facebook post that Aragon's "failure to set aside personal bias" undermined the legitimacy of the entire Civilian Police Review Board.

"His actions are inconsistent with his responsibility to maintain objectivity as a member of the civilian-led police oversight board," Ginther wrote.

Aragon, who is a member of the LGBTQ+ community, responded to Ginther at the time, simply saying "no" he would not resign from the board.

After the meeting Monday, Aragon told reporters that the board's vote and Ginther's comments send a bad message to marginalized people in the community.

"It was a really, really bad message … that basically says that our voice is not valid, that we are not going to be listened to, that our problems as poor brown, Black people in this town don't matter," Aragon said.

Several members expressed concern with Aragon’s statements during the meeting, and his lack of disclosure of involvement in the event. Others expressed confusion that Aragon used his opportunity for public comment during the special meeting to defend his actions.

"I thought I was going to hear an explanation as to maybe what you meant, as opposed to what you said in the heat of the moment," board member Willard McIntosh said. "But if what (Aragon) said is going to affect the integrity of this board, then we have to do what we have to do."

Strickland said that he voted against the recommendation to remove Aragon for comments on social media, saying it established a dangerous precedent. He noted that no current social media policy exists for board members.

"I think this is a big action for us to remove a member for neglect of duty. I just don't see it rise to the occasion where I would call for removal," Strickland said.

Strickland himself came under scrutiny in 2021 for comments he made on a personal Facebook account related to the fatal police shooting of Ma'Khia Bryant on April 26, 2021, as she swung a knife toward an unarmed woman outside the foster home where Bryant and her sister had been living.

"Do not let anyone tell you to 'wait for all the facts' while they simultaneously frame their own narrative of what occurred," Strickland wrote. "We've seen this story before. Over and over."

His comments came a week before Columbus City Council voted 5-2 to appoint him to the Civilian Police Review Board.

@Colebehr_report

Cbehrens@dispatch.com

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Civilian Police Board recommends member removal for anti-police bias