If you’re an officer or employee of the Columbus Police Department and wish to voice your opinions on the current state of the department, please reach out to the Muckraker. We will privately verify your credentials and will not publish your identity.
Residents may voice their opinions on the current state of the Columbus Police Department by contacting their city council members.
COLUMBUS, Ga. — This is the third exclusive insider article that the Muckraker has published in as many days giving voice to officers of the Columbus Police Department.
In a follow-up to our previous reporting, a Columbus Police Officer came forward for another revealing interview about the dangerous dysfunctional state of the department.
The officer answered the Muckraker’s questions about what is really going on inside the department, shedding light on how city officials have continued to do nothing and how it continues to increase the dangerous crime plaguing our city.
Note: The interview below was conducted via email as a follow-up to one of several pieces of correspondence received by the Muckraker from several CPD officers. It has been slightly edited for both grammar and content to maintain the strict anonymity of the officer.
MUCKRAKER: What are your feelings on the validity of the Jensen Hughes study? Do you feel as if the report accurately depicts reality at the department?
OFFICER: I think the results of the Jensen Hughes study are very accurate. The company is a professional company with experience examining such police departments as Baltimore, Minneapolis, and St. Louis, I think. The company spent a lot of time on-site interviewing officers and supervisors at CPD. I think the officers and supervisors were really truthful during the interviews. I know the officers are hoping for change based on the study. So yes, the study was professionally conducted and very accurate in my opinion.
Unfortunately, the department hasn't seen any major changes since the study was completed and officers continue to look for other jobs and resign from CPD.
If it wasn't for the private community stakeholders funding the study, the study would have never been completed. My question is: what are the stakeholders doing to right the wrong at CPD? I'd like to point out there have been several studies completed from within and outside CPD that basically highlight the same dysfunction within CPD. There was an internal retention study done last year within CPD. There was a SWOT analysis done by CSU within the last 2 years. There was the "non-scientific" FOP vote of no confidence by the FOP — although it seems most people tend to think the FOP vote of no confidence is … somehow not true? Then there was the Jensen Hughes study. Like I said: all these studies point to the same dysfunction within CPD.
Are our city leaders and mayor blind? How many times do they have to be told things are not good at CPD? (Look at the) internal CPD retention study and the CSU SWOT analysis. Obviously, the Jensen Hughes study is making its way out to the public.
MUCKRAKER: What other issues come to mind regarding the escalation of violent crime in Columbus? Are there other driving factors the public should know about?
OFFICER: I really don't have a good answer for the increase in violent crime. It's no secret there are not enough patrol officers to adequately patrol the streets of Columbus in an effective manner. Officers don't have time for proactive policing. The officers are just "call takers," meaning all they have time to do is answer 9-1-1 calls for service. It's not unusual for 9-1-1 calls to be held because there are no officers available to answer the high volume of 9-1-1 calls for service. Of course, high-priority calls are dispatched ASAP — but it's not unusual for a non-emergency call to be held for over an hour.
YES, gangs are a problem in Columbus. Gangs and drugs significantly add to the violence in the city — and CPD does not have a full time gang unit or gang task force. CPD has one gang analyst/intelligence person who basically validates gang members from the office. That was accurately covered in the Jensen Hughes study.
CPD needs a full time "boots-on-the-ground" gang task force — but as already mentioned, units are being gutted to send officers back to be "call takers" in the patrol division.
Gang members are known to commit crimes such as car break-ins and home burglaries. The gang members are mainly looking for firearms. From the last I’ve heard, there is only ONE property crimes detective.
I'm sure there are dozens of reports daily regarding home and business burglaries and thefts from vehicles, too. Those property crimes cannot adequately be investigated with only one property crimes detective. I would be interested to know how short the detective division is, but I can't accurately say.
MUCKRAKER: What should the public know that isn’t being told regarding the Columbus Police Department?
OFFICER: It seems everyone is saying this is somehow a race issue regarding Chief Blackmon. IT IS NOT A RACE ISSUE. I'm sick of everyone playing the race card. The council meeting last February where the FOP presented the vote of no confidence was absolutely disgusting in the way (city manager) Isaiah Hugley played the race card. I could go on and on about the race card, but I digress.
Consider this: at least one-dozen officers have left CPD to take employment with the Muscogee County Sheriff’s Office; from a black chief of police to a black sheriff. Does that indicate the issues at CPD are about race? I think not. If the public could only see the truth: THIS IS NOT ABOUT RACE — but city officials and the NAACP will keep playing the race card and it will continue to cause damage to the community.
MUCKRAKER: What other thoughts do you have on the topic?
OFFICER: The fact that city officials say that CPD and MCSO cooperate or collaborate is an absolute LIE. The two agencies DO NOT work well together. This was widely publicized last year after the run-in between CPD and MCSO at the jail sally port. That was embarrassing for both agencies. Just like normal, that story was a hot topic for a few days and then disappeared; typical for Columbus.
My fear is that this, too, will disappear. This is a hot topic at the moment — but is anything actually going to be addressed in a manner that creates a positive change?
Most officers fear nothing meaningful will change for the better; thus, the cycle of dysfunction within CPD and officers resigning will continue.
What is it going to take?
I encourage Muscogee Muckraker to continue to dig deep — dig real deep — and continue to publicize all the deficiencies within the entire Columbus Consolidated Government — especially the many issues within CPD and MCSO. The citizens of Columbus deserve so much more from their city "leaders."
//———End of Officer’s Interview———//
If you’re an officer or employee of the Columbus Police Department and wish to voice your opinions on the current state of the department, please reach out to the Muckraker. We will privately verify your credentials and will not publish your identity.
Residents may voice their opinions on the current state of the Columbus Police Department by contacting their city council members.
Facts are stubborn things — and we’ll keep publishing them, whether city officials like them or not.
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