Columbus residents can voice their opinions about the city’s response to the civic center’s criminal destruction by reaching out to their city council members through the city’s website here.
Columbus city councilwoman Evelyn “Mimi” Woodson (District 7) passionately addressed the council about the criminal destruction of the civic center’s parking lot and grounds.
The public now looks to Woodson and other city officials to follow-through on their comments, putting an end to the ongoing criminal activity that has left the civic center’s grounds with more than $1.5 million in damages.
This updated story serves as a case-study example for Columbusites on the importance of civic engagement. It exemplifies how the average citizen can voice their concerns in order to impact change on key issues that affect their lives and the community at-large.
During a regular meeting on August 30, 2022, Woodson voiced the growing concerns of her constituents, drawing comment from both Mayor Henderson and chief of police Freddy Blackmon on how the city might plan to combat the growing criminal activity at the civic center.
“I received some very, how can I say, graphic pictures — pictures that were very upsetting — of what is going on there,” Woodson said in her opening remarks. “I went myself, personally, to take my own pictures to look — and again, here we are: we have people drag racing there, shooting their guns, trashing it, leaving a big mess there.”
Describing her own personal assessment of the civic center’s criminal destruction, Woodson highlighted how terribly the condition of the civic center portrays Columbus to the rest of the world.
“It’s very bad. I took some pictures, but I’m not sure if we should, you know, put ‘em out there — but it was very bad. It was very trashy, there’s gunfire (...) it just gives us a bad look when we’re having so many events and concerts — and people come and look at, you know, the condition of the civic center.”
The Muckraker has previously published two separate photo series of the criminal destruction, filth, and negligent maintenance of the civic centers grounds. The first photo series highlighted the permanent damage done to the civic center’s parking lot, which is now estimated to cost $1.5 million to repair. The second highlighted the worsening conditions of the grounds and their maintenance, as drug paraphernalia and filth have destroyed the civic center’s appearance. The ruined appearance has created a vicious cycle, as the degraded grounds present a welcoming environment that invites even more crime to take place.
Woodson said she had received a series of messages from her constituents in District 7 who are growing increasingly concerned about the ongoing criminal activity. In response, Woodson decided to take some preliminary action by getting other city officials involved.
“I did send a message to our chief (of police) and I did send a message to our sheriff, yourself (Mayor Henderson), and I think the City Manager,” Woodson said while talking with Mayor Henderson. “I had told two of the citizens that have been communicating with me about the concerns and the issues of it. I told them that I would bring it up in council so that they know that their voices are being heard.”
After sending out messages to other officials in the community to draw their insights, Woodson said she heard back with a general consensus on how the city as a whole might begin to solve the destructive criminal activity taking place on the civic center’s grounds.
“I received messages back from public safety as a whole,” Woodson said. “They are going to sit down and try to come up with another resolution.”
Woodson also stated she heard from the civic center’s director, Rob Landers, who said security is only able to be present until ten o’clock at night. Referencing how the civic center itself does not have the resources to combat the problem on their own, Woodson emphasized her vision for the community having to come together as a whole to fix the issue.
“I think we just need to come together as a group, to try to come up with a ‘master plan’ on how, or what, can we do there.”
Woodson appears to mean business, going so far as to help guide residents in understanding the complexity of the problem. With her time on city council coming to a close in January 2023, Woodson appears to still care deeply about her community and its success after incoming councilwoman-elect Joanne Cogle takes her chair. Woodson took the time to explain to her constituents why simple solutions, such as fencing off part of the civic center’s parking lot, aren’t likely to be effective:
“I understand that we need to do more. The citizens are asking us if we can fence that area, but here's the problem that I foresee in fencing that area: You can’t just fence that piece (of the parking lot), because all they’re gonna do is move from one side to the other side of the parking lot.”
After kindly helping residents understand why fencing isn’t a practical solution, Woodson offered an alternative suggestion that might help Columbus Police get the ball rolling on defending the civic center:
“Now there was one suggestion made to me by two people,” Woodson said. “That was that we don’t have (any) signage out there — you know, no signage in that parking lot that says, ‘you can't loiter or be there,’ and that makes it harder for an officer to have the individuals disperse. Unless they are committing a crime, then they have all rights.”
Woodson’s suggestion of adding anti-loitering signage, which originated from two of her constituents, would allow Columbus police officers to act on loitering individuals within the lot. Providing officers with that power would allow two things. Firstly, it would allow officers to investigate individuals who appear to have no purpose being on the grounds of the civic center. Secondly, being able to detain and charge those who have violated this policy would also help deter others from doing the same. By simply posting signage and providing officers with the legal power to act, the signage along with an increased police presence would serve as a crime prevention method.
Speaking from the heart, Woodson then took pause to address several of her constituents who were attending the meeting due to the issue at hand. She thanked them for allowing her the opportunity to take action on the issue before the residents addressed the council themselves:
“I do see some of the residents from the historic district sitting here with their concerns, because they wanted to come before the council, and I did ask Miss (redacted) to please give me the opportunity to work — with you, and everyone — to see what we can do.”
Columbus chief of police Freddy Blackmon then approached the podium, providing the department’s perspective and insights on the civic center’s crime issues and how to address them. Blackmon stated the department is relying heavily on its high-tech assets to catch those responsible for the parking lot’s destruction, emphasizing how difficult it has been for the department to catch the perpetrators in the act.
“Of course this is an area we are well aware of. We’ve been investigating cases in that area (...) In fact, a couple of weeks ago we made a case in that area based on an individual there that violated the law. And so with these traffic offenses that are occurring — and I know they are a nuisance in the area — we go to those areas, and we investigate, and we will use all of our technologies that are available to us to further our investigations. As we arrive in those areas as the individuals are there, the vehicles take off.”
Referring to chasing the gangs of car-drifting thugs from the civic center lot, Blackmon went on to explain that it isn’t always safe for police officers to speed through the streets to chase criminals, stating the department can instead rely on technology instead to catch the criminals later:
“We utilize a standard when we exercise ‘due care’ in making decisions about pursuing vehicles — but we have other means to further investigations, and we will utilize these other means to be able to make cases as they are applicable.”
Blackmon’s statement raises questions about the effectiveness of relying so heavily on this tech-driven policing strategy, as the destructive criminal activity at the civic center is not a new problem and continues to worsen. If such reliance on technology-based policing were a legitimate option, the problem would not have continued to grow worse in the first place.
Mayor Henderson also provided comment on the difficulty of catching those responsible for the civic center’s destruction, highlighting efforts made by the city in the past to correct the ongoing problem.
“I know there have been certain instances where we have ‘doubled-down’ on that area when we anticipated they were going to be there, (with police) blocking exits and making a lot of cases,” Henderson said.
Mayor Henderson’s words speak to an effective tactic that has been used by the city before to catch criminals in similar circumstances. The tactic, known as a ‘collapsing cordon,’ involves blocking the limited exits of a parking lot. The police have to first anticipate the criminals’ arrival, waiting in ambush for the car-drifting thugs to appear. Once the well-hidden officers have observed criminal activity occurring from a distance, obstacles are quickly emplaced to block off the exits and trap the criminals inside. Officers then ‘collapse’ a perimeter around the criminals, as they have nowhere to run and no exit through which to escape.
Henderson went on to emphasize the severity of the issue, stating the city has to find a way to solve the problems at the civic center. He also described the difficulty of using tactics like a collapsing cordon to catch those responsible for the growing damages:
“Unfortunately, it’s a new game that some people in different communities have taken up (...) we’ve seen it, I think, a little more often here in Columbus — and we’ve got to figure out a way to try to stop it. It’s like catchin’ smoke for these law enforcement folks, because it’s so difficult to try to get there and have all the exits blocked without these folks taking off.”
Councilwoman Woodson then provided her closing remarks on the topic. She took the opportunity to ensure her constituents felt heard and communicated that their growing concerns aren’t going overlooked:
“That was my whole purpose of today: that the residents will see that we are looking into the concerns and addressing them (...) we need to keep the residents informed. We can’t tell them exactly what we’re going to do, because we don’t want the people we are addressing to know what’s coming. At least I have that comfort to know that their voices are being heard and it’s not going on deaf ears.”
The public now awaits for Woodson’s leadership and initiative to manifest into action.
This writer, the Muckraker, and many Columbsites from across the region are thankful for Woodson’s dedication to spearhead the civic center’s counter-offensive.
Columbus residents can voice their opinions about the city’s response to the civic center’s criminal destruction by reaching out to their city council members through the city’s website here.
