Ohio State student governments ask for university to cut ties to Columbus Police Department

Columbus protest horses

Columbus police on horseback ride down Broad Street near the Ohio Statehouse as protesters demonstrate in front of them. Moments after this photo was taken, police pepper-sprayed protesters to remove them from the street. (Jeremy Pelzer, cleveland.com)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The presidents of Ohio State University’s student government groups asked in a joint letter for university leaders to cut ties with the Columbus Police Department, stating police took “violent and inexcusable actions” against protesters.

The police killing of George Floyd, where a Minneapolis officer pressed his knee against the handcuffed man’s neck, sparked a series of protests nationwide. Sunday marked the fourth day of protests in Columbus.

In a letter addressed to President Michael Drake, Senior Vice President Jay Kasey, Vice President Dr. Melissa Shivers, Chief Kimberley Spears-McNatt, and Director of Public Safety Monica Moll, the student groups said officers’ response to the protest was unjustly forceful and militaristic.

“As our university leaders, your priorities, commitments, and duties are to the safety of your students and the footprint our university leaves on the City of Columbus," the letter reads. “We can no longer accept bias trainings, reactionary meetings, or community dialogue. Community dialogue does not work when you kill the community. Our city is burning, our students are hurting, the safety and wellbeing of the Black community is at inherent risk and there is no other time to act than now.”

Read the full text of the letter at the bottom of this post.

Officials will be “in dialogue” with student leaders about their concerns, according to a university statement on Monday.

"As President Drake wrote on Saturday, George Floyd suffered a horrendous and completely unnecessary death. His killing, and those that have come before, demand that we create a different future. We know our students are hurting, we are here to support them, and we are inspired by their commitment to this cause.

We must all work together to end abuse, discrimination, bigotry, and hatred. We will be in dialogue with our student government leaders about the specific concerns they have raised."

The Columbus Police Department did not immediately respond to request for comment on the letter on Monday morning.

Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther in a Sunday news conference, said “each day, the protests have escalated from peaceful to antagonistic to vandalism." Protests previously resulted in injured police officers and broken windows at the statehouse. Columbus Police have used wooden bullets and tear-gas on protesters, according to multiple reports.

Ginther posted on Twitter about the police’s role in these incidents on Sunday:

“We have all seen images that cause us to question whether our police officers are responding as expected. While we believe the overwhelming response by our officers has been measured and restrained, if we are asking for peace and patience of protestors, we must demand the same from our police. When they do not meet our expectations, we will investigate and hold them accountable.”

The letter is signed by Undergraduate Student Body President Roaya Higazi, Council of Graduate Students President Stephen Post and Inter-Professional Council President Jordan Vajda.

Requests included (as written in the letter) --

1. The Ohio State University Police Department (OSUPD) immediately cease contractual agreements with Columbus Police Department for any and all on-campus investigations, services, and events.

2. The OSUPD immediately cease Mutual Aid service contracts with the Columbus Police Department and strongly reevaluate Joint Patrol operations to restrict the presence of and limit the frequency of calls to CPD officers and resources in the off-campus living areas.

3. The Ohio State University no longer accept federal, military-grade resources and reduce OSUPD’s budget for expenditures that may be used for further militarization. Instead, reallocate the funds to further invest in student support units, such as the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, the Student Life Multicultural Center, Student Life Counseling and Consultation Services, or the Student Life Student Wellness Center.

4. The OSU Department of Public Safety release an action plan, devised with student input, that arms the commitment to Black student safety and overall university safety through disarmed, anti-force, and culturally competent practices.

5. The Ohio State University acknowledge and condemn the anti-Black violence the Columbus Police Department committed against Ohio State students and the greater Columbus community.

This story has been updated to include a statement from Ohio State University.

Full letter

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