Columbus City Council dealt with several police department issues during its regular meeting Tuesday, suspending an officer, swearing in five, approving hire for three more and postponing a disciplinary hearing for another.
Councilmen originally scheduled a disciplinary hearing for officer Toni Howard, who faces possible suspension for a Sept. 11 incident in which she reportedly pointed a Taser at a Lowndes County Adult Detention inmate. The inmate, which body camera footage shows had his hands cuffed behind his back and his feet shackled, was sitting on an examination table in the Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle emergency room at the time of the incident.
Howard’s attorney, Francis Springer of Ridgeland, has requested more time to review the footage, City Public Information Officer Joe Dillon said, and her disciplinary hearing has been rescheduled for Nov. 7.
The city released body camera footage to The Dispatch on Tuesday, which is published online. The published version, however, is redacted to protect private information, such as patient privacy rights protected by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA).
The Dispatch viewed the raw footage in September.
During executive session, the council voted to suspend another officer without pay for 10 working days for violating the police department’s body camera policy.
A councilman, speaking with The Dispatch after the meeting, identified the officer as Glenn Jenkins, adding the officer had not activated his body camera in an instance when he should have. The councilman also noted Jenkins took responsibility for his actions during Tuesday’s hearing.
Zack Plair is the managing editor for The Dispatch.
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