Three Columbus Division of Police officers have been charged for their conduct during the summer 2020 Black Lives Matter protests. Credit: Max Garrison | Lantern File Photo
Three Columbus Division of Police officers have been charged for their conduct during the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests Wednesday.
Officer Traci Shaw, Sgt. Holly Kanode and officer Phillip Walls are charged with misdemeanors related to offenses in late May 2020, according to a Columbus Department of Public Safety press release.
“I was asked by the City of Columbus to independently evaluate the allegations of police misconduct from last summer’s protests so that both citizens and police officers are held to the same standard of accountability,” Kathleen Garber, former Franklin County prosecutor, said in the release. “We appreciate the community’s patience over the past year while we have made continued attempts to interview witnessing officers and identify officers committing the alleged misconduct during the protests.”
Shaw is charged with three counts each of assault, dereliction of duty and interfering with civil rights relating to an event that occurred May 30, 2020, according to the release.
A video taken during the protest shows Shaw leaving her police cruiser at the intersection of High and Goodale streets, walking up to several individuals on the sidewalk and pepper-spraying them, according to a signed affidavit.
The incident occurred several blocks away from the crowd of protesters who were located downtown, according to a complaint to the city of Columbus listed in the affidavit. The individuals were unarmed and returning home, the complaint states.
Mark Collins, a criminal defense lawyer, said his firm will represent all three officers. He said he has worked with Shaw throughout her case, and she is disappointed with the charges.
“We’re very, very confident that she did her job that day within the confines of her training, experience, the expectations, the policies and the case law associated with review support cases,” Collins said.
Kanode is charged with one count each of falsification and abandoning of duty relating to an event that occurred May 30, 2020, according to the release.
Kanode’s body camera shows her arresting a protester with another officer May 30, according to an affidavit. In the footage, she is heard telling the officer the protester had “grabbed hold of another Officer and jerked him to the ground with his gear,” a signed affidavit states. A review of this footage and another submitted video of the arrest did not show the protester grabbing or throwing another officer to the ground.
Walls is charged with two counts each of assault, dereliction of duty and interfering with civil rights relating to an event that occurred May 29, 2020, according to the release.
According to a signed affidavit, Walls and other Columbus Police bike officers were on the corner of Broad and High streets when Walls pepper-sprayed nonviolent protesters who were standing on the sidewalk.
The charges for each individual stem from a private investigation led by retired FBI agent Richard Wozniak as a special investigator and Garber as special prosecutor to investigate potential criminal misconduct by Columbus Police officers during the protest.
The investigation came after Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein announced police reform recommendations in June 2020, including an outside investigation into how Columbus Police completed their duties.
A federal judge granted a motion April 30 to temporarily bar police from using tear gas, pepper spray, wooden bullets and other forms of non-lethal force on nonviolent protests after 26 individuals sued the city of Columbus and police officers for their response to the Black Lives Matter protests.
The ruling requires Columbus Police to make sure their body cameras are working and used in every interaction with nonviolent protesters and to prominently display their badge numbers or other forms of identification.
Collins said the officers will plead not guilty at the arraignment July 8 and take the cases to trial. All three charged officers have been placed on administrative leave.
