Columbus Council delays vote on police oversight proposals. Here’s the next step
After another round of emotional debate over whether to boost the power of a police advisory panel, Columbus Council decided Tuesday to form a commission to study the matter.
The composition of that commission remains to be determined. Mayor Skip Henderson said his administration will develop a plan to present to council in two weeks.
That further delays two proposed ordinances related to the city’s 11-member Public Safety Advisory Commission appointed by the mayor and council: One would have given it the power to subpoena witnesses while investigating complaints of excessive police force; another would have had all police use of force reports forwarded regularly to the commission for it to study before making recommendations.
While action on those proposals was postponed, council unanimously passed a resolution to “reaffirm” procedures and training regarding police use of force, though Police Chief Ricky Boren said his department already has such measures in place, some required by state law.
Among the provisions in the resolution are:
- The department will run background checks to ensure they’re not hiring an officer who was fired from another jurisdiction or left while under investigation.
- All officers must wear body cameras that are turned on while dealing with the public.
- All officers must take de-escalation and unconscious bias training.
- All officers must intervene if they see a colleague acting illegally or using excessive force.
City leaders could not so easily agree on District 1 Councilor Jerry “Pops” Barnes proposal to give the Public Safety Advisory Board the authority to summon witnesses to testify while investigating police complaints.
The debate
It heard hours of testimony on that issue during its July 28 meeting, before deciding to hold another public hearing on the proposal Tuesday. When they reached no consensus, citywide Councilor Judy Thomas said she’d heard 10 hours of testimony in two meetings, and still felt she needed more time and clarity.
Of around 18,000 police jurisdictions nationwide, 165 have some citizen oversight, including Columbus, she said. Columbus formed its advisory committee in 2008.
With the experience and expertise available here, Columbus should be able to work this out without rushing into it, said Thomas, citing the nonprofit Community Foundation of the Chattahoochee Valley and its “On The Table” sessions that bring residents together to discuss pressing issues.
“I think we still need a lot of work on this issue in our community,” she said, before council unanimously approved the idea of forming a study committee.
That vote followed a long list of speakers advocating for or against Barnes’ proposed ordinance. Out of at least 15 residents who spoke, 10 said they favored the ordinance and five said they did not.
Among those in favor were families whose relatives were killed in law enforcement encounters.
Rodrigo Arreola recalled his 30-year-old son Hector’s death after an encounter with Columbus police on Jan. 11, 2017, on Moss Drive.
“His mother stood there and watched this incident,” he said of the officers restraining his son, who the father said told police “I can’t breathe” 16 times. “Where is the respect to my family? There has been none.”
Kathy Scott-Lykes spoke of her son, Jarvis Lykes, 35, fatally shot by a Georgia state trooper during a traffic stop on Columbus’ Lumpkin Court, where the officer had followed Lykes from a license check that Lykes had avoided.
She was not allowed to identify the body before it was sent off for an autopsy, she said: “When I saw my son again, it was in his casket.” She asked that an investigation into his death be reopened.
Among those opposed were Joyce Dent-Fitzpatrick of the Police Benevolent Association and Christy Papay of the Fraternal Order of Police, and residents such as Alton Russell and Stan Montgomery, who warned against council’s delegating its subpoena power to an appointed board that, unlike council, does not answer to the voters.
Dent-Fitzpatrick said a police oversight board granted such power should have members with some experience and expertise in law enforcement, so they understand the issues involved. Papay also said the city needs guidelines regarding who serves on the advisory commission.
This story was originally published August 11, 2020 at 4:56 PM.