Local advocates call for change after video of CPD officer hitting man surfaces; City leaders comment on social media

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Area advocates are speaking out after a video surfaced on Sunday showing a Columbia police officer punch a man in the face several times in front of Harpo's bar over the weekend.

The incident in the video -- which shows twos Columbia police officers, and shows one officer punching a man in the face five times, drawing blood, while the other holds the man down -- is being investigated by the Columbia Police Department and Boone County Sheriff's Office.

The lead organizer for Hold Como Accountable Anthony Willroth said that he believes excessive force was used by both officers, and that both men should be fired as a result of their actions.

"As Geoff Jones himself says in his statement, their use of force policy is very clear that not only is it inappropriate to use excessive force, but if you witness somebody using inappropriate force you need to intervene," Willroth said.

ABC 17 News reached out to all Columbia City Council members and Mayor Barbara Buffaloe on Monday for comment and Ward 5 Councilman Don Waterman and Ward 6 Councilwoman Betsy Peters responded, as of Monday evening. A number of council members and Buffaloe took to social media Monday afternoon.

Boone County Prosecutor Roger Johnson told ABC 17 News in an email that his office was "aware of the recent incident and are monitoring the situation closely."

Buffaloe posted on social media Monday that the City Council condemns unnecessary use of force.

“We are aware of the videos regarding an officer involved incident outside of Harpo's on Saturday night,” she wrote. “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.”

Both Waterman and Peters echoed Buffaloe's remarks, but would not comment further.

A number of residents responded in the comments to Buffaloe, airing their concerns with the situation.

Ward 2 Councilwoman Andrea Waner shared Buffaloe’s social media posts in agreement.

“I echo these sentiments and will add that I am grateful that Chief Jones shared our concerns and acted immediately out of principle,” she wrote on Facebook. “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. I look forward to seeing this come to a quick and just resolution.”

Ward 1 Councilman Nick Knoth also shared Buffaloe’s post to condemn the actions of the officers in the video.

“Our police officers, like all public servants, must be held accountable for breaching the public's trust when an abuse of power occurs,” he wrote on Facebook. “I look forward to the results of this investigation so that appropriate measures can be taken to rectify this.”

Ward 3 Councilman Roy Lovelady on Sunday afternoon shared a YouTube link to the video on his Facebook page and called the actions “A bad display of protecting and serving.”

Columbia Police Chief Geoff Jones previously said in a Sunday press release that the use of force has to be reasonable.

“Police use of force must be reasonable," Jones said in the release. "We have a high expectation that officers act appropriately when using force, and they are expected to intervene when they observe force that is not to these standards. I will enforce that expectation."

The police department's use of force policy also states:

"Officers shall use only the force that is objectively reasonable to bring an incident under control or accomplish lawful objectives, while protecting the safety of the officer and others. Officers should apply deescalation techniques when possible and shall use force only when no reasonably effective alternative appears to exist."

Renee Carter, of Race Matters, Friends, told ABC 17 News that the police department's policy regarding matters such as this needs to change. Specifically, Carter said that police officers should not be able to investigate other police officers due to a conflict of interest.

"This event makes it even clearer that we need an independent citizens review board with oversight power, and that police agencies should not be investigating each other. Rather, independent investigators should do that," Carter said.

Both Carter and Willroth also noted that the general public's comments should be taken into account during the course of the investigation.

ABC 17 News reached out to CPD for comment regarding its investigation policy on Monday.