COLUMBUS, Ohio — Starting this week, the Columbus City Council hired several officers with the Columbus Division of Police to operate as temporary security detail for its members.
Sgt. Brian Steel, executive vice president of the Columbus chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police, said discussions about adding a security detail for council members started about a year ago.
"Crime is at an all-time high, homicides are at an all-time high. Safety is on everybody's mind, our council members… they go out into the communities, they serve, and there's crime in those communities… Sometimes the members go out by themselves, sometimes they go out in large groups, they're an easy target. An elected official in the United States is an easy target,” Steel said.
Columbus City Council’s Communications Office released the following statement:
"The Division of Police added officers to the Executive Security Unit/Detail to cover Columbus City Council. This has been a consideration evaluated over the last year. This unit will enhance member and public attendees' security at council meetings, hearings, external town halls, parades, festivals and other public events. The city will continue to assess and adapt security measures as circumstances evolve.
"When you protect an elected official its not even the safety, its protecting them from embarrassment, protecting them from ridicule, someone trying to throw paint on them, something like that,” Steel said.
The ongoing staffing shortages of the Columbus police bring up some concerns about allocating more resources away from the streets. Steel said so far this year, the department has hired 81 officers but lost 79.
"We're always concerned about staffing, we're concerned about any specialty job that takes away from the officer responding to your calls,” Steel said.
The Columbus Division of Police released a statement:
"Priority one for the Division is safety for all members of our community. Our leadership and frontline supervisors work daily to ensure our officers are where they need to be to achieve this. This does not change that.”
"If the city believes they need security due to threats, safety to personnel, then its taxpayer dollars well spent,” Steel said.