Columbus mayor says city police show 'fierce opposition' to reform in letter asking for a DOJ review

• Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther on Tuesday asked the DOJ to review the city police force.
• Columbus police are under increased scrutiny following an officer killing Ma'Khia Bryant.
• Ginther said that the police leaders in the city showed a "fierce opposition" to reform.

Columbus, Ohio, Mayor Andrew Ginther and City Attorney Zach Klein in a letter Tuesday asked the US Department of Justice to conduct a review of its policing practices.

"Thank you for taking the time to discuss Columbus police reform efforts and for considering our invitation to engage in a review of Columbus police operations," Ginther and Klien wrote in a letter addressed to Robert Chapman, the deputy director for the DOJ's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services.

Ginther and Klien asked the agency to look for "any and all racial biases in policing efforts" and to offer "findings and coordinated solutions for reform."

Columbus police are under increased scrutiny following an officer shooting and killing of 16-year-old Ma'Khia Bryant on April 20. Police say that Officer Nicholas Reardon shot and killed Bryant while responding to a 911 call about a fight.

Bodycam footage released by police shows Reardon firing four shots at Bryant while she appeared to lunge at another girl while holding what police say is a knife.

-Tom Bosco (@tomwsyx6) April 28, 2021

In the letter dated Tuesday, Ginther and Klien said that the city was "committed to reform" and that it needed to "align the reality" of how the city conducts policing with "community expectations."

While they said that the city has made "significant" progress toward reform, citing the implementation of some recommendations from the community, they said that leaders within the police department have responded to attempts at reform with "fierce opposition."

"This is not about one particular officer, police, or incident; rather, this is about reforming the entire institution of policing in Columbus," they wrote.

Ginther and Klien asked the DOJ to look into the departments recruiting, hiring, training, enforcement, use of force, and discipline practices and policies.

Neither the police union nor the police department could immediately be reached for comment.