The Columbus City Council voted 5-1 Tuesday to fire Police Chief Joseph St. John after about two hours in closed session, bringing to a close a scandal that has sharply divided the community.
St. John was suspended after missing a June 17 Civil Service Commission hearing, where he was ironically scheduled to testify against two officers who were appealing their suspensions.
Although he called in sick, he consumed alcohol early that morning — enough that he was just below the legal driving limit when he was tested at 9 p.m.
St. John, who confessed and apologized in a 31-minute recorded interview with city officials after the test, is seeking counseling and treatment, according to his attorney, David Owen.
Despite the city”s zero-tolerance policy, Ward 2 Councilman Joseph Mickens said his “preacher side” wouldn”t let him vote to fire St. John.
“We should have given St. John a second chance,” Mickens said. “I can”t answer for the council, but I felt compelled to give him that chance.”
But Mayor Robert Smith said the council, as a whole, had been “fair and consistent” in its decision.
St. John had earlier declined an offer from the council, which promised him 20 days” pay in exchange for his resignation before the meeting.
With the scandal behind them, Smith said, the council can focus on finding St. John”s replacement.
The council voted 4-2, with Mickens and Ward 5 Councilman Kabir Karriem voting “no,” to start a national search. Smith said the council will use the same approach as it has in the past: Form a search committee and go from there.
In the meantime, the council named Lt. Selvain McQueen interim chief by a 4-1 vote, passing over Assistant Chief Joe Johnson, with Mickens voting “no” to his appointment and Karriem abstaining.
McQueen, who is the commander of the Criminal Investigations Division, will resume the position immediately, Smith said.
The meeting Tuesday drew a large crowd of St. John”s boosters, some of whom lined the walls of the Municipal Complex courtroom and praised him during a citizen-input period.
Brenda Waldrop, a local nurse and real estate broker, said she had sent councilmen a different letter every day since he was suspended, July 5.
“You cannot do this to us,” she told councilmen. “You cannot take this man from this town.”
Waldrop and others said they felt safer knowing he”s in charge of the police department, and that he had personally helped them during his tenure.
But pleading turned to anger following the meeting, as some in the crowd spouted angry threats at councilmen, promising to vote them out of office next election, and called them “scum” as they left the building.
“I”m going to do my dead-level best to make sure none of the people who voted against the chief ever hold another public office in this city,” said supporter Martin Howard after the meeting.
“I think it”s a sad day for Columbus,” he added.
Up until the verdict, which was handed down at about 9:45 p.m., St. John was smiling, pointing to supporters and shaking hands.
But afterward, he was visibly shaken as he hugged and thanked supporters.
“We”re going to be OK,” he told people repeatedly. “We”ll be OK.”
When he was reached this morning, St. John thanked his supporters and said he planned to stay in town
“I”ve never felt better, regardless of what happened last night,” he said of the support.
Although he said he was still “mulling over his options” for the future, he had not ruled out a run for public office.
“To be honest,” he added, “anything is possible.”
Besides St. John”s testimony, the council also heard Public Information Officer Terrie Songer and Columbus Packet Publisher Colin Krieger. Krieger declined to reveal a confidential source used in a Packet story; the story outlined, in detail, the events leading up to St. John”s suspension.
Owen had earlier claimed St. John”s privacy rights had been violated when sources in the city released information about his blood-alcohol content to The Packet and The Dispatch.
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