Today marks two years since the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers. The cases of several Columbus police officers accused of misconduct during the George Floyd protests are still in process. Columbus City Council has approved $50,000 to extend a prosecutor's contract in three police abuse cases.
Attorney Kathleen Garber charged Columbus police officers Traci M. Shaw and Phillip Walls with misdemeanor assault, dereliction of duty and interfering with protesters' civil rights for their alleged roles in the protests. Another officer, Holly Kanode, was charged with falsification and dereliction of duty.
Kanode’s trial began May 10 and is ongoing. Walls was in court on May 23 but was granted a continuance. Shaw is due in court on July 18.
“Those are the ones that the statute of limitations is coming up," Garber said. "Those determinations are being made as to what charges if any need to be filed in the next few days.”
Garber said there are at least 17 other cases that she and investigator Rick Wozniak are working on. Wozniak is a former FBI investigator who was hired independently.
