34 homicides dominate ‘Let's talk with Mayor' forum

With 34 homicides recorded by the Columbus police this year, the sister of a Phenix City murder victim wanted to know if the city could put up more cameras along the streets to help police fight crime.

More than 95 residents gathered at East Columbus Magnet Academy to pose that question and others in the final “Let’s talk with the Mayor” forum with Teresa Tomlinson and other city officials. Residents also were updated on road projects and plans for Fort Benning Road where a $56 million high school is under construction.

Police Chief Ricky Boren said the city has experienced way too many homicides. The deaths didn’t involve strangers — someone walking into a home or someone killing someone on the sidewalk.

“These are individuals at some point in time has had a connection with the person that is now dead,” he said. The deaths may have involved gun sales, stealing weapons, drugs or a domestic situation.

Police have made arrests in 20 of the 34 homicides with 26 suspects in jail. Some cases have multiple defendants as officers continue to work 24 hours a day, seven days a week to solve crimes.

The chief noted the so-called street code of people who may know something and refused to talk to police. “Sooner or later, we get enough information to clear it,” he said.

In many of the cases, the chief said detectives are looking for a small piece of information such as description of a car, a person or whatever to get a break in a case. Many times, police will get to the scene and there were 35 people present when someone fired 20 shots but nobody saw anything. “We have to deal with that everyday,” he said.

Montrice McClendon said her brother Steve McClendon was in Columbus at a hotel before he was shot in Phenix City. She asked Tomlinson if the city could consider using more cameras on streets to help police fight crimes.

The mayor said she didn’t know, if the city doesn’t require businesses to put up cameras on private property. On public property, she said there would have to be a defined problem with criminal activity in a given area. “If we have cameras up, we have to have a reason,” she said.

Asia Gibson said she moved back to Columbus recently but wanted to know what’s available for millennials. The mayor said the Greater Columbus Chamber of Commerce is not like it was in the past with only bankers and other business owners.

City manager Isaiah Hugley said everyone in the mayor’s office is a millennial. John Hudgison, the director of Code and Inspections is in his 30s. “If you don’t have millennials, you are losing out,” he said.

The public forum was the 28th since Tomlinson took office and the last for 2017.

This story was originally published December 14, 2017 at 12:00 AM with the headline "34 homicides dominate ‘Let's talk with Mayor' forum."