Columbia mayor addresses apparent use of force by CPD officers after viral video
By Web staff
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COLUMBIA, Missouri (KOMU) — Columbia City Council members are addressing a video circulating online that shows officers using force on a subject while responding to a report of a disturbance early Sunday.
Officers responded to the disturbance in the 20 block of South Tenth Street around 12:46 a.m. Sunday, according to a news release from the Columbia Police Department. It has not shared any circumstances regarding the reported disturbance.
Columbia Police Chief Geoff Jones said that after the department became aware of the video, he requested the Boone County Sheriff’s Office to complete an independent criminal investigation into the officers’ conduct.
Columbia Mayor Barbara Buffaloe addressed the circulating video Monday afternoon on social media.
“The Council condemns unnecessary use of force by police officers and expects a full and thorough investigation into the conduct of the officers involved in this incident,” Buffaloe wrote. “We ask for your patience and grace as we work through the process. We encourage the public to provide any information to the investigating agencies to ensure accountability is achieved. We trust city management to take appropriate action once the investigation is complete.”
City council members Nick Knoth and Andrea Waner shared Buffaloe’s post with responses of their own.
“Our police officers, like all public servants, must be held accountable for breaching the public’s trust when an abuse of power occurs. I look forward to the results of this investigation so that appropriate measures can be taken to rectify this,” Knoth said, who represents most of downtown Columbia.
“We should hold law enforcement officers to the highest of standards and act swiftly and lawfully when those standards aren’t met, and this is a perfect example of standards not being met,” Waner said.
New council member Roy Lovelady also addressed the video on social media and said it was “a bad display of protecting and serving.”
Jones said he could not comment on whether the officers are on leave because that’s an administrative action, but he said CPD is following the department’s leave policies.
Anyone with information and/or recordings of the incident is asked to contact the police department or sheriff’s office. The police department can be reached at 573-874-7652, and the sheriff’s office can be reached at 573-875-1111.
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