No more officers charged in Columbus protest misconduct case, prosecutor says
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) - There will not be any further charges against officers from the Columbus Division of Police for misconduct during protests over the death of George Floyd, according to the special prosecutor handling the case.
Special Prosecutor and Whitehall Assistant City Attorney Brad Nicodemus gave the update as the deadline neared for the statute of limitations. With the two-year anniversary of the protest approaching on May 30, he and Special Prosecutor Kathleen Garber with the Columbus City Attorney's Office could not file any more misdemeanor charges stemming from alleged police mistreatment of protesters.
"Upon the review of the incidents still needing a determination for charges, there is insufficient evidence to obtain convictions at trial," Nicodemus said. "Therefore, I will not be filing any additional charges from the May 2020 protest incidents."
Nicodemus added that with the criminal investigation finished on new charges, any law enforcement agencies need to finish their internal investigations against officers involved for "administrative disciplinary purposes."
Only three CPD officers faced charges related to police misconduct during the George Floyd protests: Officer Traci Shaw, Sergeant Holly Kanode and Officer Phillip Walls.
- Shaw faces three counts each of assault, dereliction of duty and interfering with civil rights. She is accused of pepper-spraying individuals who were walking away from the protest area.
- Kanode faces one charge of falsification and dereliction of duty. Body camera footage shows Kanode assisting in the arrest of a protester and telling another officer that the person grabbed a third officer and jerked him to the ground. Other video did not show this happening.
- Walls is facing two counts each of assault, dereliction of duty, and interfering with civil rights. Body camera footage shows Walls pepper-spraying protesters who are standing on a sidewalk. Click this link to watch the footage.
Kanode's most recent day in court was May 12, before a judge ordered a continuance into the next week. The court case has not resumed since.
When prosecutors called on 60 officers to answer questions about the 2020 protests after the death of George Floyd, only six of them agreed to do so, according to the city’s Department of Public Safety. Five police officers did so only after being guaranteed that they would not face prosecution.