Columbus demonstration to protest recent police shootings of Black people ends in pepper spray

Jessica Orozco, Owen Milnes, Sarah Szilagy, Max Garrison
Wed, 14 Apr 2021 02:21:02 +0000
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More than 80 demonstrators marched outside of Columbus Police headquarters and Ohio Statehouse Tuesday to protest against police killings of Black people. Credit: Christian Harsa | Asst. Photo Editor

More than 80 demonstrators gathered downtown Tuesday evening in protest of recent police shooting deaths of Black people across the U.S., including the killing of Daunte Wright Sunday near Minneapolis.?

Despite the majority of the demonstration being peaceful and relatively free of police presence, the evening ended with pepper spray after some of the protesters attempted to enter the Columbus Police headquarters front doors, which were locked using handcuffs.

Protesters have gotten into Columbus Police headquarters, which was locked by handcuffs. Police inside deployed pepper spray as protesters streamed in. pic.twitter.com/0yx5vcURY6

— The Lantern (@TheLantern) April 14, 2021

About 30 protesters held a vigil at Mayme Moore Park at 6:30 p.m. before relocating outside of Columbus Police headquarters, on Marconi Boulevard near West Broad Street, and marching around the area of the Ohio Statehouse.

Malea Hill, co-founder of Black social justice group Downtownerz and acquaintance of Wright, told the crowd at Columbus Police headquarters she was tired of still needing to protest. She said it’s traumatizing for people who have experienced police violence to see it happen to other people without change.

“There’s too many names, and they all have the same story,” Hill said. “And it’s the story that’s untold that is most often the truth.”

Wright, 20, was shot and killed by police officer Kim Potter during a traffic stop Sunday in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, about 10 miles from where former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is on trial for the May 2020 killing of George Floyd. Potter was one of multiple officers at the scene and stated she thought she was using her Taser when she fatally shot Wright according to a Monday press conference.

Potter resigned in a letter to Brooklyn Center public officials Tuesday. Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tom Gannon resigned at a press conference that afternoon.

The Columbus community has experienced police shooting deaths in the past year as well. Andre Hill, 47, died after he was shot multiple times by former Columbus Police officer Adam Coy Dec. 22, 2020. Less than three weeks earlier, 23-year-old Casey Goodson Jr. was killed after being shot multiple times outside of his northeast Columbus home by Franklin County Sheriff’s Deputy Jason Meade.

Ohio State students joined the demonstration, too. Braven Dulaney, a first-year in environmental science, said he felt compelled to go out and protest to “follow up” with his verbal advocacy — even though, as a person of color, he was afraid.

“I know that I need to put myself in situations like that so that other people don’t have to be afraid,” Delaney said.

Julia Paxton, a fourth-year in social work, said she has been protesting since the death of George Floyd in May 2020. She said Ohio State students, especially non-Black students, should fight against racism and hold each other accountable.

“It’s not as simple as signing an anti-bias statement or doing a short anti-bias class,” Paxton said. “It’s looking at how white supremacy upholds the whole system.”