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Local activists are left confused and angered on why Police Chief candidate Perry Tarrant was rejected by the City a second time even though his experience and resumé – and also being “outside the Division” – seemed like a good fit to make needed change within the Division while also effectively protecting Columbus.
Activists reminded the Free Press that Tarrant has experience leading a police department under Department of Justice (DOJ) scrutiny, which Mayor Ginther has called for regarding the Columbus Division of Police.
The Seattle Police Department was under DOJ monitoring when Tarrant came on as Assistant Chief of Police, and assisted Oakland and Ferguson police departments as well when they were under DOJ monitoring.
“My penchant for constitutional policing and procedural justice were personal drivers for accepting a leadership role as Assistant Chief of Police with the Seattle Police Department, which was under a Department of Justice (DOJ) negotiated settlement agreement,” wrote Tarrant in his 2019 application letter to Mayor Ginther.
The illicit street sale of “fenty” or fentanyl in Columbus is wreaking havoc with its drug dealing violence and overdoses. The opioid epidemic led to illegal sale of fentanyl in the first place, and the HBO documentary “Crime of the Century” is further exposing Cardinal Health of Dublin as culpable in starting this two-decade long scourge.
“Crime of the Century” by Academy award winning documentary filmmaker Alex Gibney premiered last week with Gibney telling national media that Cardinal Health and others pushed millions into addiction but their ownership and CEOs aren’t under threat of criminal charges.
Unintentional overdose deaths in Ohio finally started to subside in 2018, but this wasn’t the case for Franklin County. From 2012 to 2019 the county went from 191 deaths to 547 deaths a year, and the pandemic made it worse.
The City is giving funding to a handful of violence intervention non-profits, but some say much more is needed. If it were to significantly increase, they believe their outreach can return Columbus to less violent times.
The Free Press recently spoke with several Columbus-based intervention specialists, also called “street mentors.” Many are “restored citizens.” They’ve weathered incarceration and found purpose in seeking peace.
All repeatedly said there is one individual in the community they need to reach the most – the “shooters.”
“We are going into the trenches and engaging with shooters. We are engaging in hot spots where the violence is taking place and engaging with individuals who are shooters or possibly can be shooters and discussing non-violent alternatives,” said Thell Robinson III, president of the non-profit Halt Violence, who paid his debt to society after years of dealing drugs in Linden and Southside.
Is the Blue wall of silence amongst local law enforcement protecting Jason Meade, the Franklin County Sheriff deputy who killed Casey Goodson? A recent traffic stop by Columbus police officers – stopping the son of Adrienne Hood, no less – may offer clues to just that.
Speculation from activists says it’s not plausible that Meade approached and killed Casey Goodson alone. He was part of a federal task force which included local law enforcement. Law enforcement is trained to make arrests in groups. They call for back up and rarely confront individuals on their own.
Again, it’s just speculation, there’s no bodycam footage of Casey Goodson’s death because no policy was in place. Yet the community is too familiar with the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office or the Columbus Division of Police’s failure to police themselves, or put no one above the law, as their oath demands. Even Mayor Ginther is now admitting that officers may refuse to report on other officers, and that many fear retaliation if they do, as the Free Press reported last week.
The City and their special prosecutors ordered six Columbus police officers in March to identify fellow officers who (allegedly) committed criminal acts against Black Lives Matter protesters this past summer, but there’s no word yet whether they’ve complied.
In Minneapolis, however, the Blue wall of silence has begun to fissure.
Derrek Chauvin’s trial and murder conviction has shown that fellow officers don’t always have to protect “bad apples.” Minneapolis police veterans testifying said Chauvin’s actions against George Floyd were “totally unnecessary.” Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo said George Floyd’s death was “murder.” Some are calling all of this “revolutionary.”.
But in our community the police appear to be remaining steadfast in not incriminating each other even though they have sworn an oath to put no one above the law.
Days after Miles Jackson and Daunte Wright were murdered by police, this incident was recorded in a grocery store.
First-hand accounts revealed that this cop was kneeling on this man's back because he stole a bottle of alcohol. The cop was kneeling on it in such a way that the man was not able to put his hands behind his back, and he punched him prior to recording. Also, an employee related that people get caught for stealing all the time and never treated like this. So, the police can call things procedure, but predictably pick and choose to whom what procedures are used.
At least four Black people watched this in horror (one is off camera) wondering if they are witnessing the next murder. The Black community literally feels safe *nowhere*: not in their homes, cars, certainly not walking their dogs, not in daylight or at night. There are at least four white people doing nothing and one employee who laughed about it.
CINCINNATI, OH — April 1, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, along with Fanon A.
Former Columbus City Council candidate Joe Motil has been an outspoken critic of Columbus City Council’s charade of its appointment process and the musical chair schemes it uses to control who holds a seat on Columbus City Council.
Motil states that, “Today’s announcement of Columbus City Councilman Mitch Brown stating that he will be retiring on December 31, 2021 and will not be seeking re-election, will now open the door for two new appointed candidates on the ballot who will be running for City Council this November.”
Fresh from the headlines: short, noteworthy developments in the cannabis world with an Ohio point of view. All sources are linked:
The Feds
· Full Legalization. As a follow-up to the MORE Act – passed in the U.S. House, stalled in the U.S. Senate and expired at the end of last year – Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has signaled his intent to introduce legislation that would remove marijuana from federal scheduling, expunge records and focus on small businesses in communities hit hard by the drug war. (March 2020)
In the wake of Casey Goodson’s autopsy report being made public by his family’s attorney on Wednesday, March 17, the local arm of the Blackout Coalition is demanding Representative Joyce Beatty – arguably Central Ohio’s most politically influential African American – to call for deputy Jason Meade’s arrest and do so this coming Tuesday when she meets with President Joe Biden in Columbus.
Murder suspects have been arrested on far less evidence. The Department of Justice, the FBI and the Columbus Division of Police are investigating the shooting.
“Looks like your Democratic friends don’t care about Black lives,” stated the Blackout Coalition on Twitter Wednesday night. “Prove us wrong. Joe Biden will be in your city (Columbus) on Tuesday, March 23. Will you publicly demand the immediate arrest of MURDERER Jason Meade or just smile and do a photo-op with Joe Biden?”