Columbus police officers facing criminal charges stemming from summer 2020 protests

A protester holds up a sign outside the Ohio Union on April 21 during protests around the death of 16-year-old Ma’Kiah Bryant while in police custody. Tom Hanks/Staff

By Tom Hanks

Three officers from the Columbus Division of Police were charged Wednesday for their conduct during last summer’s Black Lives Matter protests.

According to a release from the city’s Department of Public Safety, the officers charged are Officer Traci Shaw, Sgt. Holly Kanode and Officer Phillip Walls.

Shaw faces three misdemeanor counts of assault, three counts of dereliction of duty and three counts of interference with civil rights related to an event that occurred on May 30, 2020.

Video shows Shaw leaving her cruiser at the intersection of High and Goodale streets and walking up to several individuals on the sidewalk and pepper-spraying them, according to court documents. According to court documents, the individuals were heading home and unarmed – and the incident took place several blocks away from downtown protests.

Walls’ charges are related to an event that occurred on May 29, 2020, where Walls is said to have pepper-sprayed non-violent protestors standing on the sidewalk at the intersection of Broad and High streets.

Kanode faces one count of falsification and one count of dereliction of duty, accused in court records of having falsified a use-of-force report. On body camera video, Kanode is heard as telling another officer that a protestor had “grabbed hold of another officer and jerked him to the ground with his gear,” however cellphone video does not show this occurring, according to court records.

The investigation began in June 2020 as Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein along with City Council announced the city’s Reimagining Public Safety initiative, and was led by retired FBI agent Richard Wozniak as well as Kathleen Garber, a former Franklin County prosecutor.

A federal judge granted a motion April 30 temporarily barring Columbus police from using tear gas, pepper spray, wooden bullets, and other forms of non-lethal force against nonviolent protesters, after 26 individuals filed suit against the city of Columbus and officers.

The ruling also requires that officers ensure their body cameras work and are used in all encounters with non-violent protesters – and visibly display their badge number or other form of identification.

The city also employed the services of Ohio State’s John Glenn College of Public Affairs to conduct a review of police conduct during the protests, and the 111-page report determined that the city and the police department were inadequately prepared to handle the large-scale protests.

In corroboration with the investigation by Wozniak and Garber, the Columbus law firm BakerHostetler investigated potential violations of police policy and procedure. 49 reports were generated out of that investigation with only eight resulting in findings of any wrongdoing.

Only one of those, involving Walls, resulted in disciplinary action.

”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,” Garber said in a news 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.”

The announcement comes amid renewed calls by members of the Ohio State community for the university to sever ties with Columbus Police amid controversy of its handling of April’s Chittfest riot and the deaths of 12-year-old Ma’Kiah Bryant, 23-year-old Casey Goodson and 47-year-old Andre Hill while in police custody.

The city agreed to pay a $10 million settlement to Hill’s family – the highest amount the city has ever paid to the family of a victim of police misconduct.

A release from investigators said the City Attorney’s office had prosecuted hundreds of civilians for violent and aggressive behavior during the protests, ranging from rioting and criminal damaging to threatening police officers. Charges against 60 protesters, in particular those who were charged with curfew violations, were filed but dismissed by Klein’s office.

Interim Columbus police chief Michael Woods says that all three officers have been placed on administrative leave, in accordance with department policy, until criminal cases against the three have been resolved. The officers are expected to be arraigned July 8.