African Americans accounted for nearly 90 percent of arrests in a six-month period for Columbus Police Department’s special operations group.
Ward 5 councilman Kabir Karriem said special operations group review committee members tallied the task forces arrests for the six months leading up to October during their initial meeting last week.
The special operations group, formed by former CPD Chief Tony Carleton, made 309 arrests in that period.
Of those, 15 were white women, 21 were white men, 61 were black women and 212 were black men. Black men and women accounted for more than 88 percent of the arrests, and black men alone accounted for more than 68 percent.
The figures troubled several review committee members. Ward 4 Councilman Marty Turner noted that the group arrested more black women than white men and women combined.
“Then you’ve got 212 black males,” Turner said. “Shouldn’t that be a red flag? It seems like black males are being targeted.”
At the committee’s previous meeting, Shelton said the special operations group worked the entire city. On Wednesday, he said they primarily operated in the Sim Scott Park area; Memphistown; around Forrest Boulevard, Lawrence Road and Gaylane Drive in east Columbus; and near Friendship Cemetery.
Committee member Berry Hinds asked how the special operations group arrest totals compare to CPD as a whole.
“I’m not sure of the whole demographics of Columbus, but it sounds to me like this group was put in a position that most of their observations were on black communities,” Hinds said. “They would’ve had more arrests or more citations with the black community than they would have for the rest of the community. How does that match up to all the rest of the police department?”
Interim Police Chief Fred Shelton said those numbers would have to be reviewed. He did not compile them because the committee was commissioned to focus on the special operations group.
However, he added that he does not believe the disproportionate arrest numbers are an issue with the department at large.
“Three officers is not an indication of the whole force,” Shelton said. “However, if you look at the demographics of the whole city of Columbus, it’s probably 50-60 percent black. There will be more interaction with the black community than the white community simply because we have more of the makeup.”
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 60 percent of Columbus residents were black, as of the 2010 census, and 37.4 percent were white.
Mayor Robert Smith pointed out that some of the special operation group’s focus on certain areas of town came as a result of community meetings held earlier in the year.
Karriem said the numbers were discouraging, but pointed out that they shouldn’t drive a wedge between CPD and the community.
“We need the police department just like the police department needs the community,” he said. “There are realities we have to face in our own communities that we just need to have an honest conversation about. That will be taken up at a different venue. But we need each other as we move forward, and our sole purpose is to try to make this department better and get the right information back out to the community.”
Smith said the city could use the newfound knowledge and the resulting recommendations that will come from the special operations group review committee to prevent similar issues from arising in the future.
“I think we can all say that if this committee was not formed at the request of Councilman Karriem, we wouldn’t have knowledge of this,” the mayor said. “I would hope from this day forward because of this committee and the recommendations that we will take a more proactive approach in the future in the future as far as curtailing these problems.”
Alex Holloway was formerly a reporter with The Dispatch.
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