Excessive force, racism complaints: Columbus police chief hears from unhappy residents

Many of the dozens of Columbus residents who gathered Tuesday for a meeting at a North Linden church with Police Chief Elaine Bryant shared concerns about excessive force by some members of the Division of Police.

Bryant was joined at Mt. Hermon Missionary Baptist Church by First Assistant Chief LaShanna Potts and other members of the police division for the event hosted by Faith in Public Life, a nonprofit interfaith lobbying group with an Ohio office

The meeting was a long time coming. Bryant joined the division in June 2021 and committed to hearing directly from the Columbus community about their experiences with excessive force by Columbus police officers.

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During the discussion Tuesday, Potts acknowledged that racism exists in law enforcement.

“We’re not blind to the fact that there is racism in law enforcement,” Potts said. “But I can tell you under this leadership team … we are not going to tolerate lawlessness … we’re not going to tolerate mistreatment of citizens. But we’re also not going to tolerate mistreatment of officers.”

Potts said she wanted to be clear that the police division would not tolerate discrimination.

“We’ve made it clear to the officers that we’re going to make it uncomfortable for you if you have biases of any kind. If they’re racist, if they’re homophobic, they’re going to have to find someplace else to work.”

Ramone Obey, 24, asked when the police division was going to present concrete solutions to racism in law enforcement. Bryant replied that she has only been with the division for a short period of time, and is still learning the problems and concerns of the community.

“And in order to do that, I need to have those conversations and understand what is going on and what has been said and what has been done,” Bryant said. “So this is all part of our plan to be able to listen, understand and get the information we need.”

Incidents of alleged police insensitivity, mistreatment recounted

Some residents shared their accounts of alleged personal mistreatment by Columbus police.

Nakea Hughes, 47, shared with Bryant and Potts how her son was recently shot at a gas station by a panhandler. When she arrived at the hospital to find out about her son, she said she felt like she was treated like a criminal by detectives who were there.

Hughes said when she went outside and began to ask why her son’s friend was in the back of a police car, a detective grabbed her wrist and yanked her, breaking her jewelry.

“I said, ‘Why are you grabbing my arm like this?’” Hughes said. “That detective was just rude — I don’t know why he was acting that way.”

Bryant told Hughes she would have someone from the police division immediately collect more information on the incident.

Other residents complained that the local police union was protecting some abusive officers.

Michael Wilson, 65, said he believed the Fraternal Order of Police Capital City Lodge #9 is to blame for a lack of change in the police division.

“Allow me to say — all police are not bad, all politicians are not bad, all pastors are not bad,” Wilson said to applause from the audience. “But what I do know is that the union sometimes works against y’all, and y’all know that.”

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Bryant said the police division is working with the union to try and enact meaningful change.

“We’re trying to figure some things out to be able to come to a happy medium,” Bryant said. “Because there are some things that need to be changed, but it didn’t happen overnight and we’re asking for patience.”

Potts said the local FOP here has more influence here compared to Bryant's and Potts' experiences in Michigan.

“And we got to play by those rules,” Potts said. “But we’re holding our officers accountable.”

Adrienne Hood, mother of Henry Green, who was fatally shot in 2016 by two undercover Columbus police officers, also spoke during the meeting. She noted it was a week away from the six-year anniversary of her son’s shooting death.

“I do appreciate the acknowledgement that there may be racist issues within the department and y’all haven’t experienced them,” Hood said. “And I guess my response to that is that y’all probably won’t because you’re the chief and the assistant chief.”

In late April, a federal jury determined that former Columbus police officers Zach Rosen and Jason Bare were justified in using force in June 2016 against Hood's son, Henry Green. Rosen and Bare, white officers who were working in plain clothes and in an unmarked vehicle, fatally shot the 23-year-old Green, who was Black, during an exchange of gunfire.

On Friday, Hood filed a request for the U.S. Sixth District Court of Appeals to consider her appeal of the jury's verdict. The appeals court has not yet ruled on the matter.

Reporter Bethany Bruner contributed to this story.

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus police chief hears excessive force experiences at forum