Shannon Hardin

Columbus City Council has dropped a plan to delay the hiring of police recruits. Council president Shannon Hardin abandoned the proposal on Monday, saying he lacked the votes needed to pass the measure as part of the city budget.

Last summer, as protesters demanding racial justice flooded Columbus streets, a meme began passing around social media, depicting the city budget as a bar graph with police spending dwarfing every other expenditure. 

Columbus City Council passed a handful of amendments to the 2021 city budget on Thursday, including one that suspends police hiring until a recruiting audit concludes later this year. 

Columbus City Council holds its first hearing on Monday night for Andre’s Law, a provision that requires police to activate cameras and provide first aid on the scene.

Columbus leaders unveiled a list of planned police reforms on Thursday, including $4.5 million for new body cameras and a proposal to enforce their use, a month after the city faced two incidents in which white law enforcement officers shot and killed Black men.

The city of Columbus announced that it will close City Hall and surrounding buildings Tuesday and Wednesday to promote safety around President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration. They will already be closed Monday, January 18 in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Columbus City Council is asking for public input on policing ahead of a series of town halls that begin next week. 

Andre Hill was laid to rest in Columbus on Tuesday. A memorial service at the First Church of God in Southeast Columbus brought together friends and family members as well as a string of elected officials.

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost will serve as special prosecutor in the fatal shooting of Andre Hill, an unarmed Black man, by Columbus Police Officer Adam Coy last week.

On Wednesday morning, Mayor Andrew Ginther attended the funeral of Casey Goodson Jr., a Black man killed by a Franklin County Sheriff’s deputy less than three weeks ago. Hours later, the mayor lamented that the city is yet again mourning a Black man killed by a law enforcement officer.

Columbus City Council held a meeting Monday to outline its public safety plans ahead of budget deliberations.

The city of Columbus announced Thursday that it is funding "learning extension centers" for students who are doing school online during the worsening COVID-19 pandemic.

As Columbus approaches a record-rate of homicides in 2020, city leaders are stepping up efforts to stop the violence. So far this year, 132 people have died due to violence.  The city is quickly approaching 2017 when a record 143 people died due to homicides.

Columbus City Council on Monday decided to table proposed restrictions on the police department's use of military equipment and non-lethal weapons like tear gas.