A sit-in at Moritz College of Law in front of Dean Lincoln Davies’ office drew around 40 people Friday to demand the university to cut ties with Columbus police. Credit: Jack Westerheide | Lantern File Photo

More than 30 people gathered for a sit-in at Ohio State’s Moritz College of Law, calling for the university to sever ties with Columbus Police Friday.

The demonstration, organized by the Black Law Students Association, was staged outside Moritz College of Law Dean Lincoln Davies’ office in Drinko Hall, where students demanded Davies publicly take a stance on police brutality on behalf of the law school community, according to the event flyer.

Other demands included increasing public support for previous calls to cut ties with the CPD from student governments and organizations, joining the requests made by Columbus leadership and Congresswoman Joyce Beatty for a formal investigation of the CPD by the U.S. Department of Justice and publicly condemning CPD for their treatment of the Black community in Columbus, on campus and during protests.  

Kendall Beard, a first-year law student and one of the organizers of the event, said the university should sever ties with CPD in a tweet Friday.

“As law students, advocates and federal leaders, we won’t stand for silence,” Beard, treasurer of BLSA, said in a tweet to Davies. “We demand the administration take an affirmative stance against police brutality.” 

Davies said in an email the Moritz College of Law supports the right of its students, faculty and staff to peacefully speak out about issues that are important to them. He said the college strives to create an educational environment that values and celebrates diverse opinions and encourages civic engagement and robust dialogue. 

“I have reached out to the Black Law Student Association and am committed to continuing this important conversation and to advancing concrete action to improve society and ensure safety and equality here on campus,” Davies said.  

University spokesperson Ben Johnson said in an email the Ohio State University Police Department is the primary agency that performs police work on campus. He said there is a mutual-aid agreement in place between university and Columbus police that allows Ohio State police to assist CPD in off-campus incidents. The university also hires CPD officers for services, such as traffic control for athletic events. 

President Kristina M. Johnson mentioned the mutual aid agreement in her universitywide email April 27, which acknowledged opposing calls for both an increased police presence in the campus area and cutting ties with Columbus police. 

Another student-led protest April 21 called for the university to cut ties with Columbus Police. The event began with more than 400 students gathered outside the Ohio Union before staging a sit-in inside the building to protest Ohio State’s relationship with CPD following the April 20 killing of Ma’Khia Bryant, a 16-year-old Black girl. The sit-in was followed by a march south on High Street toward the Ohio Statehouse where protesters chanted Bryant’s name and to defund the CPD. 

The story has been updated to include a statement from Dean Lincoln Davies at 8:06 p.m.