COLUMBUS (WCMH) — The president pro tem of the Columbus City Council has called for hearings on whether the city should fund the purchase of military-grade equipment for the city’s police department.
City Council President Pro Tem Elizabeth Brown issued a statement Monday saying that as the chairperson of the council’s finance committee, she plans on holding hearings to update the city’s purchasing code, which currently allows for the police department to buy “equipment that only belongs in the hands of military operations.”
“We cannot build a paramilitary operation and expect officers employed by it to keep the peace,” Brown wrote in the statement. “The presence of police should never look and feel to residents like we are at war.”
The statement comes after a contentious few days of protests in downtown Columbus. Police and protesters clashed on Sunday near the Ohio Statehouse, and there are reports of police using pepper spray against a young disabled man. Ohio State Highway Patrol asked late last week for peace following late-night demonstrations that resulted in a fire being set in the street, shots fired, and an injury-causing accident.
Brown’s statement said the hearings would begin before the Fourth of July holiday.
Brown’s full statement reads:
“Meaningful change to safeguard Black lives in Columbus is urgent. We must move faster, and as we do so, the Columbus Division of Police must respect through their actions the paramount role that First Amendment rights play in a healthy, safe, and free society.
“Frankly, the importance of the First Amendment is so great that safeguarding these rights should be basic. What is harder is the critical and arduous work ahead to change policing in our city and leave Columbus better than we found it for the next generation. I am concerned that this straightforward work of respecting free speech continues to present a challenge for the Division of Police when much harder work lies ahead.
“I support the organizers in our city’s streets expressing their First Amendment rights not just in the service of the demand for change, but also in the celebration of Black lives. I believe that meaningful change starts with the central question, ‘How do we keep every resident safe?’ We know the current and long-standing system isn’t doing that. The answers and the path forward for our community lie in the voices of those who are fighting to be heard right now. We all must listen.
“Further, we need to talk about the tools our police department uses. We cannot build a paramilitary operation and expect officers employed by it to keep the peace. The presence of police should never look and feel to residents like we are at war. That is why, as chair of the council’s Finance Committee, I plan to hold hearings to update our purchasing code, which currently allows the Columbus Division of Police to buy equipment that only belongs in the hands of military operations. We will hold these police demilitarization hearings before the July 4th holiday.”
Columbus City Council President Pro Tem Elizabeth Brown
UPDATED: Tuesday, June 23, 2020
Keith Ferrell, the FOP Capital City Lodge #9 President, discussed his concern with Brown’s announcement.
“I am concerned about decisions that will be made that put the public at risk, as well as the police officers and our ability to do our jobs,” he said.
Brown responded by saying the safety of everyone is the priority.
“We want to keep our officers safe, but we also want to have a real conversation with them about what our residents need to feel safe and if we don’t have a conversation that includes all those voices, than we’re not going to have an outcome that makes everybody feel like they’re safe,” she said.
