By Katelyn Sattler
Staff Writer
Sergeant Fred Brophy of the Columbus Division of Police gave a safety update to the Greater Hilltop Area Commission at its June meeting.
He reminded everyone that the new concealed carry law went into effect on June 13, so a permit is not needed to carry a concealed firearm in the state of Ohio.
“You will no longer need to have a permit to carry a concealed firearm in the state of Ohio,” said Brophy. “That is going to dramatically change a lot of things when it comes to the number of firearms that are going to be out in our community. We need to make sure that those people who do possess firearms, if they’re doing it legally, are alwayskeeping it secured and locked up and not being able to be accessed by persons who should not have them, or be able to be easily stolen.”
Brophy said that a recent homicide on the westside was committed by a person who had just stolen an unsecured firearm from a motor vehicle.
“It’s an ongoing investigation, so I can’t really say too much more than that. We need to be good, studious owners of those types of things, if that’s where we’re going to go.”
Brophy also spoke about one of the initiatives for All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV) enforcement that CPD is performing in conjunction with the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office and local townships.
On Sullivant Avenue, 14 vehicles were impounded out of one enforcement crack down, four people were arrested, two stolen dirt bikes were recovered, one person was charged with OVI, and one person was in possession of narcotics.
“This is a project that’s going to continue throughout the rest of the summer at different points in time. We’re not necessarily announcing too much more ahead of time when they’re happening, but I will give updates as they come,” said Brophy. “We do know that the ATVs and the reckless operation of dirt bikes on the streets is a significant concern to our citizens, so we want to try to address that as best as we can.”
Talking about summer initiatives, Brophy announced that the West Side Safe Streets program is up and running again.
Safe Streets officers can be reached at WestSideSafeStreets@columbuspolice.org.
In other news, commissioner Aden Mohammed stepped down from his appointment to the commission, leaving his seat empty. Chairman Dan Fagan asked for nominations for the vacant appointed seat for the term that expires in December of 2023.
Commissioner Leah Brudno nominated Kayla Davis to the seat. Brudno introduced Davis as the founder and executive director of a Step in the Right Direction, and also an employee of Huckleberry House. She is a Hilltop native.
Commissioner Malik Moore nominated Chelsea Golterman. Moore introduced Golterman as a qualified candidate who has a whole litany of experience and work in public service. She is currently a senior legislative aide to Senator Teresa Fedor.
Commissioner Jennie Keplar nominated Joe Argiro. Keplar said many know him as past president of the Highland West Civic Association, a lifelong western Columbus resident who works as an education researcher for Central Ohio Technical College.
Each candidate was able to speak about their other qualifications and why they were interested in the position.
After two rounds of voting, Kayla Davis was elected to the vacant appointed seat. Since it takes 30 days to process the election, Davis won’t take her seat until after the July meeting.
Fagan encouraged the candidates who did not get the seat to run for election at the end of the year, when four members will be elected.
