George Floyd
Police officers accused of brutal violence often have a history of complaints by citizens
As protests against police violence and racism continue in cities throughout the U.S., the public is learning that several of the officers involved in the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and Breonna Taylor in Louisville share a history of complaints by citizens of brutality or misconduct. Decades of research on police shootings and brutality […]
Pandemic strains emergency responders with more disasters on horizon
Federal officials have more money than ever to respond to disasters, but some worry their focus on the pandemic could hamstring efforts to recover from other catastrophes. Congressional Democrats and health experts have warned in recent weeks that the Federal Emergency Management Administration’s pandemic response could come at the cost of its response to tornadoes, […]
Militarization has fostered a policing culture that sets up protesters as ‘the enemy’
The unrest sparked by the death of George Floyd after being pinned to the ground by the knee of a Minneapolis police officer has left parts of U.S. cities looking like a battle zone. Night after night, angry protesters have taken to the street. So too have police officers dressed in full riot gear and […]
Demonstrations, marches and clashes in Columbus in photos and video
Ohio Capital Journal staff have been out on the streets of Columbus over the weekend and into Monday, covering the protests and marches in Ohio’s capital city. Demonstrations across Ohio come in response to the death of George Floyd, a black man who was killed during a stop from the Minneapolis police this week. Video […]
Ohio House Dem Leader: ‘Willful ignorance’ only reason for lack of action on racism
The Ohio House Minority Leader says it is up to white people to address the societies and legislation that they built to be discriminatory. On day five of protests surrounding the Ohio Statehouse, Minority Leader Emilia Strong Sykes said the state’s government needs to “lead the nation” in passing a resolution declaring racism a public […]
Civil rights groups urge Congress to combat police brutality
WASHINGTON — Hundreds of civil rights organizations urged U.S. congressional leaders to quickly pass legislation to address police killings of black people in the wake of a series of recent deaths that have ignited protests around the country. “In recent weeks, the chronic structural issue of police killings against Black people across our country has, […]
‘People of color want freedom … from infection, freedom from death’
WASHINGTON — The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately harmed communities of color, laying bare the systemic racial disparities across the United States, experts have told lawmakers across the country. Early evidence suggests there are elevated rates of infection and death from COVID-19 in African American populations and other communities of color. Nationwide, Black Americans are dying […]
Yearning to breathe free, or just to breathe
Millions of Americans, it seems, feel as if they can no longer breathe. Through the first months of 2020, the novel coronavirus has choked the life from more than 100,000 of our countrymen and women. Disease-related shutdowns have choked 40 million more out of the workforce, changing the economic outlook for many — especially minorities […]
Why cellphone videos of black people’s deaths should be considered sacred, like lynching photographs
As Ahmaud Arbery fell to the ground, the sound of the gunshot that took his life echoed loudly throughout his Georgia neighborhood. I rewound the video of his killing. Each time I viewed it, I was drawn first to the young black jogger’s seemingly carefree stride, which was halted by two white men in a […]
DeWine calls in Ohio National Guard to help with protests in Columbus, Cleveland while mayors invoke curfews
After a third day of protests filled the downtown Columbus streets, Gov. Mike DeWine deployed the Ohio National Guard as mayors across Ohio declared curfews Saturday night, with some establishing them for Sunday and Monday as well. DeWine also called in the National Guard for assistance in Cleveland. In a press conference Saturday, DeWine said […]
Protests again turn violent outside Ohio Statehouse
Protests turned violent Friday night into Saturday morning outside the Ohio Statehouse, with some demonstrators hurling rocks at police and police responding with anti-riot tactics. For the second night in a row, people gathered in downtown Columbus to protest the death of George Floyd. Video emerged this week of a Minneapolis police officer restraining Floyd […]
As demonstrators protest Floyd death, legislators seek to make racism public health crisis
After a night of demonstrations related to the Minnesota death of George Floyd, Ohio legislators condemned the police actions that led to the man’s death, and called for racism to be declared a public health crisis. Thursday night street protests occurred in downtown Columbus calling for nationwide action, as police used tear gas and riot […]