What Columbus could expect out of the civilian review board

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Shortly after protests erupted in Columbus following the death of George Floyd, Mayor Andrew Ginther announced his proposal for a civilian review board of the Columbus Division of Police. 

Ginther argued many cities across the country already have an oversight body, and it would help give transparency to the citizens they demand over police. 

The 11-member group is still working out many of the details about the types of cases it will take on when it comes to police, hiring an inspector general and more.

Just down the road in Cincinnati, that city has had a similar citizen complaint authority for nearly 20 years.

“I’m in regular contact with Mayor John Cranley of Cincinnati,” said Ginther. “We have talked about things that have worked, things we have tried here.” 

Created in 2003, Cincinnati’s Citizen Complaint Authority (CCA) receives more than 200 cases a year and investigates about 70 of those annually.

“CCA was created as a result of the climate agreement here in Cincinnati,” said Gabriel Davis, the group’s director. “Leading up to the climate agreement there had been some friction, to put it mildly, between folks of the community and the police.” 

The seven members of Cincinnati’s board are appointed by the mayor. There are five investigators who dig into cases. In total, the board has a $900,000 annual budget. 

Columbus also plans on hiring investigators, and is expected to have an annual budget of $1 million. While Cincinnati’s board can only make recommendations, the proposed board in Columbus would have disciplinary power. 

“If we make recommendations from findings and there are disagreements, the city manager ultimately has an opportunity to weigh those and to break the tie, so to speak,” said Davis.

Until the FOP contract is changed in Columbus, the civilian review board’s recommendations are just that.  While Davis argues the system works well to give transparency to the citizens, Cincinnati Fraternal Order of Police President Daniel Hils disagrees.

“You’ll find it will do just the opposite. Instead of increasing public trust, you’ll have folks who are so determined to call out the police that they will end up being just another anti-police voice out there,” Hils explained.

Hils added he believes oversight bodies can be effective if they are set up right. 

“I believe there can be a system that could be worked out for review if you have some balance,” said Hils. “People in this panel who know law enforcement, have worked in law enforcement, and then other citizens who can give their viewpoint.” 

Hils added the Cincinnati CCA is slow-acting and has taken up to two years to review cases. Davis explains they recently hired more investigators to work on cases faster.

Voters approved adding the review board to Columbus in November, and Ginther has made it clear the board will serve to investigate allegations of misconduct and use-of-force incidents involving police officers. 

The Columbus City Council approved the appointments of 11 members to the city’s Civilian Police Review Board in April. The process consisted of reviewing more than 200 applications and interviewing more than 20 people. 

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