#columbusdivisionofpolice — Public Fediverse posts

#Columbus #Ohio police plan specialized unit as Memphis police disbands theirs, abridged/arranged from https://archive.ph/2Qffl

Last year, Columbus sharply declined in most violent crime, including a 32% decline in homicides and a 16% decline in felonious assaults.

Violent crime in Columbus is down and Memphis police have disbanded their specialized crime unit in the wake of the fatal police beating of Tyre Nichols. But #ColumbusDivisionOfPolice is set to create a new specialized unit of officers to target gang activity, similar to a previous CPD unit called "Safe Streets" but referred to on the streets as "Jump Out Boys." That unit had a complex history in the community, including the fatal shooting of Henry Green in 2016.

Columbus police currently has a squad of detectives focused on developing information about gang activity in the city. But the new squad, which is likely to have only a handful of officers when it begins operation, will supposedly be focused on enforcement versus intelligence gathering.

Officers from Columbus train with officers in the Detroit Police Department, where Chief Elaine Bryant and First Assistant Chief LaShanna Potts worked before coming to Columbus.

"The Columbus Division of Police understands and shares concerns surrounding specialized units lacking oversight," wrote Potts, who did not address in her statement whether the unit members would wear body cameras.

Ralph Carter, a long-time Linden* resident who founded the nonprofit We Are Linden, said he was not approached about the proposed new gang unit and felt the community should have input before it hits the streets.

*Linden: Columbus neighborhood where Casey Goodson Jr was murdered by Jason Meade in December 2020.

He said past jump-out squads was seen "in cahoots" with local drug dealers and not following the law:

>Carter: Some of them were accused (by community members) of planting items on drug dealers, trumping up charges on them. You got excessive abuse from the police.

>If (the planned special unit) is going to happen, ...they need to wear something bright that says police. It cannot be how it was, plain clothes jumping out with a bunch of guys in hoodies and with tactical gear. Just riding around the neighborhood, jumping out on kids, now we’re going to have even more of a nightmare.

He fears the unit will lead to unnecessary tragedy, like what was seen in Memphis with its SCORPION unit.

>When they’re jumping out, it’s like they’re attacking them. I'm not saying it can’t be done correctly...It may not be the right time (to create such a unit).

The fatal shooting of #HenryGreen

In 2016, Columbus police officers Zach Rosen and Jason Bare, who were a part of a specialized police unit, were involved in a shootout with 23-year-old Henry Green, who was killed.

At civil trial, Rosen and Bare were cleared of wrongdoing and found not liable for Green’s death. Evidence in the trial showed Green fired at the officers, who were in plain clothes and in an unmarked vehicle.

>Green's family contends that Green did not know who the undercover plainclothes officers were and thought they were assailants coming for him. -Federal jury sides with Columbus officers in Henry Green wrongful death trial (April 22) https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/local/2022/04/26/federal-jury-sides-columbus-officers-henry-green-civil-trial/7354897001/

The unit Rosen and Bare were a part of was renamed several times in the years after the shooting, including as the "Safe Streets" program that stopped its operations because of the COVID pandemic in 2020.

"These special units too often encourage aggressive policing tactics that lead to encounters that end up violent and deadly, especially for people of color who encounter these units," Walton (attorney representing Green’s family) said. "We need more transparency and de-escalation and this new initiative seems to cast doubt on their commitment to both."

Walton said specialized police units "terrorized" the community for decades and the Columbus Division of Police has refused to acknowledge those mistakes.

see also
(2018) Henry Green case: Review finds officers justified in 2016 fatal shooting
https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/crime/2018/02/16/henry-green-case-review-finds/14309453007/

#BlackLivesMatter #JumpOutBoys