City responds to FOP criticism, saying Columbus can reimagine public safety and fight crime
Citing the shooting of a deputy U.S. Marshal a day after two children and a young man were killed, a local Fraternal Order of Police official on Wednesday criticized Columbus city leadership over its approach to public safety.
Brian A. Steel, vice president of FOP Capital City Lodge No. 9, which represents 4,300 law enforcement officers in Columbus and Franklin County, said in a statement that city leadership has for the past year emphasized its Reimagining Public Safety initiative, which is intended to help resolve violence in the city and complaints about police action.
"It's not working," Steel stated flatly. "Our homicide rate continues to climb year after year."
A spokesman for Columbus City Council said the council has spent millions of new dollars supporting the police division and that it takes the all parties working together to keep the community safe.
The shooting deaths of two children and a young man Tuesday night in what investigators say was a "targeted assassination" at an apartment complex on the Southeast Side near Canal Winchester brought the total number of homicides in Columbus this year to a new record 186.
The public safety initiative, which Mayor Andrew J. Ginther and city council say is based on polling and input of city residents, includes the creation of a Civilian Police Review Board and independent inspector general to investigate allegations of police misconduct, alternative 911 responses such as sending mental health or drug addiction counselors to non-violent emergency calls, and programs such as a youth intervention initiative and mentoring to address the root causes of violence.
Ginther spokeswoman Robin Davis did not address the FOP criticism directly in a brief emailed response to The Dispatch, saying that "Mayor Ginther is focused on bringing those responsible for this horrible crime to justice and making Columbus neighborhoods safer."
Michael S. Brown, chief of staff for Columbus City Council President Shannon G. Hardin, said in an emailed statement that the city council this year has passed millions of dollars in new spending for the Division of Police.
The council, Brown said, has been "supporting every request from the new Chief of Police for the tools officers need to do their jobs, while adding millions for new partnerships to reimagine safety, engage youth in positive programs and enact long-needed (police) reforms to ensure accountability."
"Columbus can do both, but reimagining safety takes all parties working together to keep us safe," he said.
Brown noted "the city is mourning the horrible murder of two children and praying for the recovery of law enforcement officers in Central Ohio shot at in the line of duty."
jwilhelm@dispatch.com
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus' Reimagining Public Safety initiative 'not working,' FOP says
