The Columbus Police Department issued a memo Wednesday that prohibits officers from wearing their sidearms when appearing before the city council on matters involving disciplinary action.
The memo was posted in the patrol briefing room Wednesday morning and reportedly signed by Chief Selvain McQueen.
In addition, the memo also states that officers can no longer wear their duty weapons in classroom-type settings at the department.
The Standard Operating Procedures manual requires officers to wear their gun when in uniform. The new memo would counteract that instruction.
The memo comes on the heels of a reportedly heated debate between police officer Lance Luckey and council members at Tuesday night’s meeting. Luckey reportedly strongly objected to a recommended 30-day suspension after he “liked” a controversial comment on Facebook.
Ward 3 Councilman Charlie Box said he didn’t feel threatened by the officer.
“I did not feel threatened or like I was in danger,” Box said. “I don’t think anyone up there felt threatened.”
Box said he doesn’t disagree with the memo, however, saying that in a situation with high emotions, removing your weapon makes sense as a safety precaution. He called the memo, “an abundance of caution.”
“You never know what can happen,” Box said.
The memo is the first of its kind at the department.
McQueen could not be reached for comment Thursday morning.
Sarah Fowler covered crime, education and community related events for The Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 29 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.