Columbus city leaders say mob attack shows difference in police response

Hightower, along with Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther, City Councilmember Shannon Hardin and Franklin County Commissioner Kevin Boyce, all opened the conversation to those in central Ohio.

“The way that these folks were handled and dealt with versus the way the [Black Lives Matter] protesters in this community and around the country were dealt with, very clear differences,” Mayor Ginther said.

Commissioner Boyce and Hightower both brought up how hundreds of police were prepared when BLM protestors took over the streets of Washington D.C., yet were not prepared when President Trump supporters began storming the Capitol building.

Hightower said the issue is bigger than race, but touches on the need for discussions about race and inclusivity.

“[They chant] ‘take back our country’, as if the rest of us are not a part of our country,” Hightower said.

Ginther and Hardin both said they’re working hard to ensure situations like that are handled differently in our communities in Ohio.

They are currently working to form the Civilian Review Board.

“We’re at the table now with the Fraternal Order of Police and we are going to negotiate because we know out neighbors’ lives depend on it,” Ginther said.

Applications for the Civilian Review Board are being accepted until Jan. 15.