Year: 2020

Repost from The Times-Gazette; Commentary by John Judkins, Esq.

On July 22, 2020, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine held a press conference announcing that he was ordering every person in Ohio to wear a mask in public. This announcement came with several broad exceptions, but generally speaking, the governor said he was ordering most Ohioans to wear a mask whenever they were outside their home.

The governor stated that his order was to take effect at 6 p.m. Thursday, July 23.

By 6 p.m. on the 23rd Governor DeWine had made no such order. Around that time, however, the Ohio Department of Health’s website was updated with an order from Interim Director Lance D. Himes which demanded that most individuals in the state of Ohio wear face coverings at all times outside their home.

So why did the governor say he was ordering Ohioans to wear masks, but the order actually come from director of the Health Department? Because the governor can’t legally order you to do anything. However, there are a few state statutes that say the director of the health department is allowed to order you to do things in certain times of emergency.

Ohio Revised Code Section 3701.13 outlines some of the powers of the health department including the ability to have, “…ultimate authority in matters of quarantine and isolation, which it may declare and enforce …” and to “make special or standing orders … for preventing the spread of contagious or infectious diseases…”ORC § 3701.352 says, in part, that, “No person shall violate … any order the director or department of health issues … to prevent a threat to the public caused by a pandemic.”

ORC § 3701.99 says in part that you can be found guilty of a second degree misdemeanor if you violate an order of the health department issued to prevent a threat of pandemic. Second degree misdemeanors are punishable by up to 90 days in jail and fines of up to $750.

In short, these laws mean that you could be charged with a crime and subsequently go to jail if you do not wear a mask in public. However, there is a reasonable argument that these laws may also violate the Ohio Constitution.

The powers of Ohio’s government have been separated between three branches by the Ohio Constitution: the legislative, executive and judicial. The constitution is the supreme governing law of our state, and no statute can supersede the constitution. The United States Supreme Court has stated that separation of the government’s power exists, “precisely so that we may resist the temptation to concentrate power in one location as an expedient solution to the crises of the day.”

The laws I referenced above were passed by the Ohio General Assembly, but they seem to confer lawmaking power to the Ohio Department of Health, which is a part of the executive branch. The legislature has essentially said that during a time of pandemic the health department may issue orders that carry criminal consequences. In other words, the legislature essentially gave the executive branch the ability to make new criminal laws.

The Ohio Supreme Court has said that, “the lawmaking prerogative is a sovereign power conferred by the people upon the legislative branch of the government,” and therefore “cannot be delegated to … [another] branch of government.” The legislature is not supposed to be able to delegate its authority to make law to the executive branch. In another case, the Ohio Supreme Court stated that, “Administrative regulations cannot dictate public policy, but rather can only dictate policy already established by the General Assembly.” Here it seems that the department of health dictated the policy.

But also, maybe not. It’s actually really common to have both state and federal laws that criminalize regulations issued by the executive branch. Sometimes, the executive agency oversteps its authority, and a court challenge by a citizen strikes down an unconstitutional regulation.

Most of the time, the regulations of the executive branch agencies are enforced by courts. For instance, it is a federal crime to export compost outside the State of New York. This is not because Congress said so. This is because Congress passed a law criminalizing the violation of regulations passed by the department of agriculture concerning the transportation of plant products.

The executive branch issued a rule prohibiting transporting compost outside of New York, and if you violate that rule then you commit a crime.
Therefore, the complete delegation of lawmaking authority to the Ohio Health Department which allows them to make up brand new crimes during times of pandemic might be unconstitutional, but it also might not be. Ultimately, that is a question for the third branch of government, the judicial branch, to decide.

Unfortunately, the only way for a court to decide this question would be for someone to not wear a mask, be charged with a crime, and argue to a court of law that the crime they are charged with is unconstitutional. Arguing the constitutionality of a law is time consuming, has a low success rate, and is very very expensive.

On top of all that, wearing a mask in public is really just a kind thing to do.

To paraphrase the Dread Pirate Roberts, I think everyone should be wearing masks in the future. I just don’t think the governor or the health department should have the authority to make new laws that could send people to jail for not wearing them.

Laws should be made by the legislature.

John Judkins is a Greenfield attorney

Apparently two years can change a man.

When Mike DeWine was running for governor of Ohio against Democratic contender Richard Cordray in 2018, DeWine blasted his opponent for supporting Issue 1.

DeWine reportedly called Issue 1 “a disaster in the making.”

In fact, DeWine was one of the biggest voices against Issue 1.

As DeWine pointed out at the time, billionaire liberal elites Mark Zuckerberg and George Soros were the primary financial backers of the proposal, “and t hat alone should make Ohioans suspicious.”

Two years later, Gov. Mike DeWine places Ohio’s contact tracing program in the hands of Soros-funded Partners In Health.

Contact tracing is a tool that is used in the public health arena for sudden disease outbreaks, like HIV and TB - and now COVID-19.

When asked about the decision to use PIH at a press conference on May 21, DeWine said, “And so I’m going to take help from where I can get help and where I find expertise. I don’t have to agree with everyone’s ideology or what they think about everything in the world and to accept that, to be able to use their help.”

To echo DeWine’s own words: That alone should make Ohioans suspicious.

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More on contact tracing: With the ability to use technology for large-scale tracing of entire populations, some have expressed concern that contact tracing for COVID-19 can easily be abused and the acquired information exploited.

• Teaching tools: PIH Scripts used in COVID-19 contact tracing interviews.
• Over 60 companies are pushing cell phone apps and other ways of tracking COVID-positive people.
• The Covid Credential Initiative calls for a digital certificate, sometimes referred to as an immunity passport. With it, certificate holders could prove that they’ve recovered after testing negative, have tested positive for antibodies, or have received a vaccination, once one is available. By proving immunity, individuals will be able to begin “participating in everyday life again.”

A couple weeks ago, Ohio made national headlines when local authorities set up a hotline to report anyone caught in public in Cuyahoga County without a mask on.

Over the course of a weekend, the hotline reportedly logged over 500 complaints from pro-maskers tattling on the unmasked.

Since then, Gov. Mike DeWine has imposed a statewide mandatory face mask order.

Pro-mask crusaders, keen on ensuring that their fellow Ohioans obey, have made their position known on social media - and are prepared to verbally pummel anyone voicing an objection to mandated masks.

Those in opposition are labeled selfish, rude, hateful or something worse.

But masked virtue-signalers take warning. There are Ohioans with disabilities that prevent them from wearing a face mask. Harassing, threatening or physically assaulting them could land you in legal trouble of your own.

What’s more, there are numerous law offices offering to represent those who have been harmed by mandatory mask orders by the state.

It’s no wonder that pro-maskers feel compelled to single out the unmasked for abuse. This is what DeWine’s “I wear this to protect you” campaign was clearly designed to do, create a fearful situation that pits one against the other. Where neighbor reports neighbor.

DeWine’s Administration is utilizing the same tactics employed by dictatorships throughout history.

Despite having no scientific proof to support its claim, DeWine’s campaign slogan puts forth that, by not wearing a mask, you are leaving another unprotected and putting them in harm’s way.

Regardless of one’s personal beliefs about masks, there are valid health conditions that legally exclude people with disabilities from wearing them, even during a statewide mandate.

Despite DeWine’s obvious lack of regard for those suffering from disabilities, there are federal laws that protect them. Business establishments must be very cautious when it comes to denying access to those with disabilities, which are not always visibly apparent.

Under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, store managers cannot legally question a disabled person about the nature of their disability and cannot require documentation that a disability exists.

The National Law Review warns that businesses that exclude non-face-mask-wearing customers who claim a disability have to reach a pretty high legal bar or they could be party to a lawsuit.

The 1851 Center for Constitutiona Law says DeWine’s mask mandate is unconstitional in several ways and it contains no enforcement mechanisims.

There are 13 exemptions from the mask mandate, and they are broad enough to exempt anyone at anytime in any place from wearing a mask, according to a statement by 1851 Center.

“Bottom line: if you don’t want to wear a mask, you don’t have to. And if you’re wearing a mask, it’s because you’re choosing to do so,” said the statement.

“In the interim, you’re entitled to disobey these orders, and we will defend those who are prosecuted.”

 

A news release Friday from the Ohio Department of Health targets Ohio families with fear-inducing disinformation and pushes the “new normal” for kids.

It also presents recommendations that could be dangerous and potentially damaging to children, teens and young adults.

In the release, ODH interim director Lance D. Himes urges young people to “create a new normal” for themselves.

Under Guidelines for Parents it states, “Many young people have become seriously ill or died.” In reality, there have been two deaths under the age of 20 in Ohio, according to the ODH’s own website.

The Center for Disease Control shows zero COVID-19-associated deaths in Ohio as of June 18 for anyone 19 years and younger.

The ODH makes no mention that comorbidities are a major factor in the severity of COVID-19.

Approximately 85 percent of children with a severe reaction to the virus have at least one significant preexisting medical condition, but this information is absent from the news release.

Comorbidities include immune suppression, malignancy, obesity, diabetes, seizures, congenital heart disease, sickle cell disease and chronic lung disease.

The release instructs parents to have their children wear masks when they are away from home.

It does not address the fact that sufficient oxygen levels are necessary for brain development in kids and young adults, and that fresh air builds a child’s immunity.

The human brain isn’t fully developed until the mid-twenties, and adequate oxygen to the brain is a critical component of brain development. Neurologists agree that the most effective way to stimulate brain function and development is through breathing.

Inhaling and exhaling while wearing a facial covering is more difficult for children than adults due to their smaller airways and cardiovascular physiology, according to neurobiologists.

Many pediatricians advise against children wearing masks, including pediatric nurse practitioner Patricia Neuenschwander.

Neuenschwander said that fear is driving the recommendation for healthy people to wear masks, not science.

“Covering the mouth and nose for hours is not only uncomfortable for children (and adults), it also limits the airflow and the flow of oxygen coming in. It causes children to breath their own carbon dioxide, which we know is harmful. In addition, it provides a dark, warm, moist environment that potentially increases the risk of infection,” said Neuenschwander.

The release also fails to mention that masks make children fearful, resulting in anxiety and lowered immunities.

“Wearing a mask promotes fear, which we know is bad for the immune system,” states Paul Thomas, M.D., a Dartmouth-trained pediatrician with over 30 years of medical experience.

“It reduces breathing in fresh air, which is also bad for the immune system, and it does little to nothing to prevent spread of a virus,” said Thomas.

The news release was entitled, “The Ohio Department of Health Stresses That Teens and Young Adults Are Crucial in Fight Against COVID-19″”

“Teens and young people must do everything in their power to protect themselves, their families and friends, and all Ohioans against this very real and very serious threat,” Himes said. “You will save lives, prevent suffering, and help tame a pandemic that places all of us at risk.”

This contradicts current medical data showing that children very rarely become seriously ill or transmit the virus.

One of many articles about how COVID-19 affects children was published in the Journal of Pediatrics. It said doctors concluded that children rarely transmit COVID-19 to each other or to adults.

“The data are striking,” said Dr. Raszka, pediatric infectious disease specialist and associate editor of Pediatrics. “The key takeaway is that children are not driving the pandemic. After six months, we have a wealth of accumulating data showing that children are less likely to become infected and seem less infectious; it is congregating adults who aren’t following safety protocols who are responsible for driving the upward curve.”

ODH’s mission statement is “to protect and improve the health of all Ohioans by preventing disease, promoting good health and assuring access to quality care.”

Why is this taxpayer-funded agency publishing disinformation that can result in permanent damage to Ohio’s young minds - our future leaders?

Why are Ohio health officials pushing the creation of a “New Normal” for a virus that has a 99-plus percentage survival rate?

Was last week’s announcement from the Big Ten Conference the first domino to tumble in an unthinkable chain reaction?

Is college football in jeopardy of being a casualty in the coronavirus pandemic?

Conference officials sent a jolt of uncertainty when they announced that Big Ten football teams will only play those schools within the conference.

This proclamation sent shock waves across the Buckeye State as thousands of football fans sit and wait – and ponder a season without the Scarlet and Gray.

The PAC-12 made the same decision, and many conferences have already put the kibosh on the 2020 football season. Those include the Ivy League, the Patriot League, the Mid-Eastern Atlantic Conference, and now the Colonial Athletic Association.

But the seismic reaction on my end did not come from that revelation from the Big Ten, but instead after what Commissioner Kevin Warren said.

He told the Big Ten Network, “We may not have sports in the fall.”

Wow.

Warren said the conference wanted to take the next “logical” step and rely on medical experts to make sure students and athletes are healthy, both emotionally and physically, before athletics are played.

Right off the bat, the first three games against Bowling Green, Oregon and Buffalo are gone – poof.

This means there will be no trip to play the Ducks in Oregon, the defending Pac-12 Champions, who are scheduled to come to Ohio in 2021.

And there are financial consequences too.

Bowling Green and Buffalo are also owed money as part of a non-conference agreement to a total of $3 million, according to information from the Columbus Dispatch.

This is not the way Warren wanted to enter his first year as commissioner.

And this was not the news fans wanted to hear either.

They have already surrendered spring and summer sports.

March Madness fouled out because of the pandemic. Major League Baseball is on deck later this month to play a shortened season, but there are two outs in the ninth inning.

Major events like the Kentucky Derby and the Indianapolis 500 are still not a guarantee to cross the finish line even after they have been pushed back.

We are living in a real-life Twilight Zone.

Now the nightmare might impact the biggest and most popular team in Ohio and one of the most-followed squads in sports.

Buckeye football is the lifeblood of Columbus.

What will happen to the city if the pigskin is quarantined too?

Businesses such as hotels, restaurants, vendors, and those who work the games will be impacted.

Now fans must examine the possibility that there might not be any football played in the Horseshoe, or in any other stadium this fall.

This is a real scenario.

OSU Athletic Director Gene Smith said that he was concerned for the status of the season.

“I am really concerned, that is the question of the day. I was cautiously optimistic. I’m not even there now,” he said in a press teleconference.

I believe Big Ten and Ohio State officials are trying to soften the blow leading up to a future announcement that will be a gut-punch coming to fans and the city.

The health of the public should be at the center of every decision, and it appears that is the protocol.

And legendary football coach Lou Holtz told Fox News earlier this week that “I don’t believe there will be football this year.”

We can’t hide forever.

Life must get back to normal, and college football is perhaps the best way to do that.

Maybe not this year, it might appear.

Normal is tailgating before kick-off.

Normal is the Skull Session before the team makes its way to the ‘Shoe’ through a gauntlet of supporters.

Normal is the band marching out to a thunderous crowd and writing Script Ohio.

Normal is hearing the fans chant O-H-I-O at least 564 times a game.

Normal is a Buckeye win.

And normal is Ohio State in contention for another National Championship.

We need normal.

Del Duduit is an award-winning writer and author who lives in Lucasville, Ohio with his wife, Angie. They attend Rubyville Community Church. Follow his blog at delduduit.com/blog and his Twitter @delduduit. He is represented by Cyle Young of Hartline Literary Agency.

Medical experts say the majority of the population will need to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in order for it to work.

The vaccine hasn’t even been released yet and already the pro-vaccine drive is underway.

Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia said that to stop the spread of this disease and “get our lives back,” most of the population will need vaccinated.

With several potential COVID-19 vaccines now in clinical trials, policymakers need to plan for the next hurdle: Ensuring Americans actually get vaccinated, said an article in USNews on Tuesday.

Could the vaccine, like the mask, eventually become mandatory if not enough people voluntarily receive it?

Monica Schoch-Spana, Hopkin’s senior scientist made the case for why the vaccine should be embraced by all.

“But it’s one thing to make a clinically successful vaccine,” said Schoch-Spana, “It’s another to make it socially acceptable.”

The vaccination is not only about yourself, both Offit and Scch-Spana stressed. It’s about creating the ‘herd immunity’ that protects the most vulnerable people in a community.

Most of the population will need vaccinated to “stop the spread of this disease and get our lives back,” said Offit.

It is also becoming apparent that the vaccine might not be a single-dose, but a two-dose injection that could require boosters.

Vaccines will likely need to be given in two doses, Offit said. And whether or not booster shots will be needed to ensure continued immunity against the virus remains to be seen.

Around the world, governments are investing in stockpiles of hundreds of millions of doses of the different vaccine candidates, in hopes of speedily starting inoculations if any are proven to work, according to the Associated Press.

“We’re not going to get this virus under control until either we get a vaccine or it infects 80% or 90% of the population, and the latter is an outcome we don’t want because a lot more people will die,” said infectious disease researcher Sarah George, MD. in Popular Science.

We believe that these findings, although preliminary, suggest that many people who hold anti-vaccine beliefs may jeopardize the effectiveness of a COVID-19 vaccine once it’s available, due to issues of noncompliance, said an article in The Conversation.

The government’s top infectious diseases specialist Dr. Anthony Fauci told Congress that vaccine trials were looking favorable and a vaccine could be available by the end of the year.

An experimental vaccine, developed by Fauci’s colleagues at the National Institutes of Health and Moderna Inc., is undergoing testing.

Researchers reported on Tuesday that the vaccine provided the hoped-for immune boost. The vaccine requires two doses, a month apart.

“No matter how you slice this, this is good news,” Fauci told The Associated Press.

“We’re going to start manufacturing doses of vaccine way before we even know that they work, so that by the beginning of 2021, we will have a couple of million doses,” Fauci said.

Fauci said he’s somewhat concerned about how long a vaccine might contineu working. Natural immunity to coronaviruses that cause common colds often lasts less than a year, he noted.

While trials prepare a vaccine for the general population, states need to begin thinking about how they will implement a vaccination policy, so it is effective enough to reopen…and stay open.

 

(This article has been updated. Rep. Tavia Galonski represents the 35th House District, not the 25th.)

If some Ohio Democratic leaders had their way, civil disobedience would be punishable by jail time and death - as crazy as it sounds.

These emboldened Democrats can’t seem to conceal their utter disdain for Ohioans that don’t believe as they believe or do as they say.

Ohio Democratic Party Chairman David Pepper wants anyone without a mask fined and arrested. And, unbelievably, Democratic State Rep. Tavia Galonski said participants at an upcoming Ohio Freedom rally should be slaughtered.

You can’t make this stuff up.

Galonski represents Ohio’s 35th district and is Chair of the Ohio Woman’s Caucus.

It’s unclear if Galonski is making a threat or signaling the suggestion of violence, but she had plenty of support from fellow Democrats figuratively patting her back for the statement, “A little voluntary manslaughter anyone?”

She was referring to attendees at an upcoming Stand for Freedom Ohio rally scheduled for Saturday in Capitol Square, Columbus.

Some of the representative’s followers reiterated her death tweet in memes and comments, wishing participants a fate of violence or Covid.

A review of Galonski’s Twitter showed no such hostility toward Black Lives Matter and Antifa groups that rioted in the streets of downtown Columbus for weeks and did thousands of dollars in damage to the Statehouse where Galonski serves as an elected official.

ODP Chairman David Pepper last Friday slammed Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost when Yost stated that he could not legally enforce orders for face masks.

Violating a state order is a second-degree misdemeanor and is punishable by up to 90 days in jail and a $750 fine.

“We’re not talking about throwing people in jail,” DeWine said during a press conference last week. “This is a law to advise people what to do.”

ODP Chairman David Pepper is upset that the orders will not be enforced by the state.

“As far as Dave Yost is concerned, refusing to enforce health orders is just one more example that the Ohio GOP has become the party of Donald Trump, Nino Vitale and John Becker,” said Pepper. Read the story here

Pepper was referring to Rep. Nino Vitale and Rep. John Becker who are outspoken advocates for civil liberties.

Sadly, Galonski’s public threat has gone unreported by liberal media. As far as is known, Galonski has not been reprimanded by the ODP or her superiors at the Ohio House.

One of those to speak out against Galonski’s Twitter post commented, “Inciting violence is never okay but especially not from elected officials!”

Over the past few weeks, social media watchers have noticed a new influx of pro-mask, pro-lockdown social media posts, comments, and trolls. One enterprising web sleuth has alleged that this influx is through the efforts of a group that has branded itself AmplifyOhio.

According to their website, they are “partnering with the State of Ohio to amplify practices that will help us more safely move about in our communities.” They are seeking to do this by hiring influencers to help s pread their message online on Twitter, Facebook, and other similar outlets.

According to the Ohio Secretary of State website, there is no business or organization registered to operate in Ohio under the name AmplifyOhio or anything remotely close to it. A search of a number of other states corporate records failed to find any registrations either. A WHOIS internet lookup search shows the web address was registered through GODADDY on April 20, 2026 using their private registration service.

Ohio Statehouse News has reached out to the Governor’s office and requested information on these efforts. However, the Governor’s spokesperson has failed to respond to repeated requests.

We did find one additional clue, however. According to Exhibit 1 of the Memorandum of Understanding signed between Partners in Health (PIH) and the State of Ohio, PIH is supposed to provide “support for social media and other strategic communications to the general public.” Please see the picture below:

Exhibit 1

 

PIH is a far-left organization that spouts Marxism and liberation theology. As we reported here in May, they have numerous ties to the Clinton Family, Bill Gates, and George Soros. Apparently their work in Ohio now includes hiring an army of liberal trolls to push mask mandates and more lockdowns on social media.

AmplifyOhio Instagram site is followed by several Ohio departments and agencies.

Throughout the COVID19 pandemic, the DeWine administration in Ohio has continued to make it difficult to easily understand the relevant data. In fact, they have continually hidden or not even reported the total tests taken by Ohioans. This appears to be part of the plan to needlessly frighten Ohioans and shut down our economy. Together, with his willing allies in the liberal media, they have employed a number of classic misdirection techniques in order to accomplish their goals. We’ll break down those methods for you below.

The Surge in New Cases Fallacy

A July 8, 2025 Columbus Dispatch headline helps explain how this fallacy works. It screams, “Ohio’s spike continues with fourth-highest number of daily cases!”

But what the Columbus Dispatch and the DeWine administration fails to report is that this increase in cases simply reflects the fact that Ohio has significantly ramped up its daily testing numbers. For example, on July 2, 2025 Ohio reported a whopping 1,265 new cases. But what they didn’t tell us is that on July 2, 2025 Ohio also performed a whopping 20,613 COVID19 tests, one of their highest totals to date. In fact, it took until June 30, 2025 before Ohio was able to even perform 20,000 tests per day! You can see part of this information for yourself buried in the ODH website here..

A surge in new reported cases is only happening because Ohio has quadrupled its daily tests over the past several months. We aren’t seeing an increase in the actual percentage of positive tests. To say that these new cases are the result of a surge, is simply fake news.

The Surge in the Positive Rate Fallacy

Under this fallacy, the DeWine administration and their liberal media allies are arguing that the percentage of positive cases are going up. An article first written and posted on July 6, 2025 helps explain how this works. According to the Columbus Dispatch, “the infection rate actually is going up, to more than 6% during the recent spike in coronavirus cases.”

This is also fake news. The most recent data buried in Ohio’s COVID19 website shows a positive daily test rate percentage of 5% as of July 6, 2020. The highest daily percentage positive rate was 37% reported on April 19, 2020. We also saw a positive percentage spike of 18% on April 1, 2020. The lowest daily percentage positive rate was 3% reported on June 8, 2020.

By May 7, 2026 the once higher positive percentage rate had dropped to 9% and it has hovered in the range of 4 to 6% throughout most of May, June, and July. Overall, as of July 8, 2025 Ohio has completed a whopping 896,485 tests and found 58,904 positive cases. That is an overall total positive rate of 6.5% according to data from the The COVID Tracking Project.

The Multiple Positive Counting Fallacy

According to Investigative Journalist Jack Windsor, people that test positive multiple times count as separate, individual cases. In other words, if I test positive in four different tests on four different days, that counts as four cases, not just as one person that’s tested positive. How many sick people in Ohio are testing positive again and again for COVID19? We don’t know and the DeWine administration isn’t telling.

The DeWine administration and its liberal allies are using these classic tricks of cherry picking and selectively reporting data, or they are outright hiding data from the public. Don’t be fooled. It’s classic fake news.

The Columbus liberal media isn’t reporting on it and a gag order has silenced police officers and city employees from talking about it.

But a Columbus Police veteran has a warning. Ohio’s capital city is about to become a very dangerous place.

James Scanlon is one of the few speaking out about a “dismantling” of the Columbus Police Department by Democratic Mayor Andrew Ginther and city council.

Scanlon has 33 years experience on the CPD. He currently trains law enforcement at the North American SWAT Training Association and is an expert witness in police-involved shootings.

The CPD veteran said the public isn’t fully aware of what is occurring with the police department in what Ginther has referred to as “demilitarization” and “reimagining policing.”

“In reality, it is being dismantled, piece by piece,” said Scanlon. “It is a total dismantling of the Police Department, rendering them incapable of doing their job.”

Scanlon recently called out Ginther and city council members at a council meeting on June 29 for waging an “on-going assault” on Columbus police by “demonizing officers and misinforming the public.”

“It is shameful how you and other city officials have demonized these officers and misinformed the public into believing they are a group of ‘rogue, racist cops.’ All of you have relentlessly and falsely accused the Columbus Division of Police, and its officers, of being complicit in a culture of systematic racism. Due to my 42-year involvement with the Columbus Division of Police, I know that you are spreading falsehoods,” Scanlon told them.

Scanlon said Ginther’s premise is flawed.

“His message is that countless black men and women have died at the hands of police. He is propagating fiction. He puts forth that CPD is systemically racist,” said Scanlon.

“Ginther and city council have quietly been switching out items in the police budget to other programs,” said Scanlan. “They are in the process of taking away things like bullet proof vehicles and items that will result in cutting the police off at the knees.

“This has created a dangerous situation and it will get worse,” he said.

“Any officer that speaks out risks losing their job. They cannot speak. And most citizens are afraid to speak because they will be labeled racist or whatever name they want to put on people.

“No one has a voice but this very small side,” said Scanlon. “Their plan has gone virtually unopposed. They were able to do this sitting around a table with no opposition. And it is likely well past the point of stopping it. They will be finished in a couple weeks.”

Scanlon’s advice? Get out of the city while you can.

“The public has no clue what this is going to mean. This is going to change their lives and their kids’ lives forever. Anyone who lives, works or plays in Columbus is affected by this.”

“People in the suburbs feel distant from this issue,” said Scanlon. “Arlington, Westerville, some 20 suburbs around Columbus. This will be felt in the suburbs. It will affect everybody. The suburbs feel well-insulated here. My theory is, how ever goes Columbus so goes the suburbs.
“Your suburbs are going to lose security and value, as well.

“I can only speak to what happens in Columbus, but it seems to be a national effort. The new term is ‘Reimagining Policing.’ That term came to the surface and within 24 hours every mayor and city council was using it. This was well orchestrated.

“Our leaders feel emboldened. Bad guys feel emboldened. It’s shameful. It’s the most unbelievable thing I’ve ever seen.”

Scanlon said CPD officer have taken ongoing abuse from protesters but that the gag order prevents them from going public.

“Police cannot speak out on what they’ve been subjected to during riots. They’re being hit with bricks, bottles, as they’ve been standing on the front lines for weeks. They are helpless to do their job because they have been ordered not to.

“It’s going to be a sorry state of affairs. Who is going to want to work for the Division of Police after this? This has always been very competitive, a very high quality of people that they have there now. They are being run off the police department for fear that they will be indicted on some false pretense to further the agenda.”

Scanlon said that Ginther now makes every decision and generates every piece of information that comes out of the CPD. Police Chief Thomas Quinlan has no say.

“A reporter brought up that he was having trouble getting any information from the Division of Police. Mayor Ginther had no problem saying, ‘I’m in control of what comes out of the CPD.’

“What’s going to happen to the citizens of Columbus? It has joined the ranks of the cities that have fallen.”

Scanlon said it is the most vulnerable that will suffer most. People without the means to leave the city who depend on the police to protect their families from a dangerous criminal element.

“By not addressing specifics, Mayor Ginther and City Council members have purposely misled the public into believing Columbus Police Officers are routinely killing innocent black men. Their false narrative has greatly damaged the public’s opinion of this amazing agency and created the most dangerous situation I have ever witnessed in this city,” stated Scanlon.

Below is Scanlon’s statement to Mayor Andrew Ginther and city council members Shannon G. Hardin, Elizabeth C. Brown, Mitchell J. Brown, Rob Dorans, Shayla D. Favor, Emmanuel V. Remy and Priscilla R. Tyson

“Good Evening Council members. My name is James J. Scanlon. I am a retired Columbus Police officer. Between 1978 and 2011, I primarily worked night shifts, protecting the good citizens who live in our inner-city precincts. I loved being there and they loved having me there. Like thousands of other CPD Officers, I protected them against the criminal gangs, robbers and other predators. Now – criminals and their families didn’t like me being there. But, as cops, we are more concerned about what good and decent people think about us than the thugs that hurt and intimidate those good people.
Mayor Ginther and members of City Council have waged an on-going assault upon the fine men and women of the Columbus Division of Police. It is shameful how you and other city officials have demonized these officers and misinformed the public into believing they are a group of “rogue, racist cops”. All of you have relentlessly and falsely accused the Columbus Division of Police, and its officers, of being complicit in a culture of systematic racism. Due to my 42-year involvement with the Columbus Division of Police, I know that you are spreading falsehoods.
Mayor Ginther has stated that “countless black men and women have died at the hands of police officers”. That statement was both false and dangerously inflammatory. There have not been “countless” police-involved shooting deaths.
Here are some facts:
· There are 600,000 – 800,000 Columbus Police encounters with individuals per year.
· There were 7 black suspects fatally shot by CPD Officers in 2016
· 4 in 2017
· 5 in 2018
· 1 in 2019
In every single case, the suspects were armed and threatening.
Facts matter! Each of these incidents has been thoroughly investigated and presented to the ultimate “citizen review board” – a grand jury.
Mayor Ginther, you will be pleased to learn that, in those four years, if you were not armed and threatening, the odds of a black suspect being fatally shot by a Columbus Police Officer was exactly zero. You have every reason to be proud of the police officers you have been tasked to lead.
But, at last week’s City Council news conference, Council members falsely vilified CPD Officers for racist, systematic abuse and murder of African-American men and women. No facts or statistics were used to support their lame accusations. Instead, Council President pro-tem Brown went so far as to condemn a specific CPD police-involved shooting, citing a “skewed system that resulted in the death of Henry Green”.
Many of you have spread a great deal of misinformation concerning the Henry Green Case, leaving many Columbus citizens to believe that officers gunned down Mr. Green for no reason. In reality, Mr. Green was shot by police officers after he fired 6 rounds of .45 caliber ammunition at the officers from a distance of 14 feet or less. Those rounds came within inches of striking officers, lodging in the car door that one officer was behind and a headrest the other had been in front of seconds earlier. Mr. Green was carrying a stolen Glock .45 caliber handgun loaded with those 6 rounds. I believe these to be relevant facts in the case. It’s too bad the public never heard these facts from their City of Columbus elected officials. By the way, under the new “reforms”, how many rounds need to be fired at an officer before that officer may fire back?!
Facts matter! You should be ashamed of yourselves for misrepresenting the facts, misinforming the public and driving a wedge between the citizens of Columbus and their fine police department.