Leaders call for solutions to Columbia crime
University of Missouri System President Mun Choi’s call for a campaign to address crime in Columbia earned support Monday but few details emerged on how it would play out.
Support ranged from Gov. Mike Kehoe to several members of the Columbia City Council and Mayor Barbara Buffaloe, who has agreed to form a community task force to address crime following the early morning incident on Saturday that left a woman dead and two wounded.
Stephens College student Aiyanna Williams died Sunday at University Hospital. Williams was on East Broadway at 1:40 a.m. when a shooter fired into the crowd that she was in.
The criminal process began Monday for Misael Covarrubias when he made his first court appearance in connection to the shooting. He is charged with three counts of first-degree assault, three counts of armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon causing death or injury.
Covarrubias is being held in Boone County Jail. He has a hearing scheduled for Oct. 7 and a preliminary hearing on Nov. 6.
In a Facebook post Monday evening, Williams’ family thanked the community for support, but called for space to grieve.
“I have already asked, at my daughter’s memorial, that her death not be turned into a political statement,” the post said. “That request has not been respected. We are grieving our daughter. We’re not furthering anyone’s agenda.”
“There is a crime crisis in Columbia,” Choi said during a news conference at Jesse Hall. “And that’s why I called on the mayor, the city manager and the prosecuting attorney to take immediate and long-term actions.”
City leaders respond to Saturday’s shooting
While the mayor and other top city officials were in meetings throughout the day and declined interview requests, some council members expressed support for a renewed focus on crime in response to the fatal shooting on Saturday.
Third Ward councilperson Jacque Sample said she agrees with Choi’s encouragement of collaboration between the Columbia and MU Police departments to jointly patrol the city.
“I support his support of the Police Department,” said Sample. “We have increased our police numbers, and I believe the chief is doing a good job of making sure that her team is where they need to be.”
In regard to the police response on Saturday, “police can’t predict the future or the behaviors of people who choose to do bad things. Their response time was there, and they were able to immediately detain and arrest the person,” Sample said.
Fourth Ward Councilperson Nick Foster said increased police presence alone won’t solve the issue.
“I believe that presence of law enforcement does deter some crime, but it doesn’t deter all of it,” Foster said. “We are not going to police our way to eliminating violent crime or crime of any kind.”
The Columbia Police Department brought in additional officers on overtime pay to try and prevent shootings like the one that took place on Saturday. However, Fifth Ward Councilperson Don Waterman said that an increased police presence is helpful but won’t stop every incident.
“You could have a cop on every corner, I don’t know that it’s absolutely going to prevent it,” Waterman said. “It’s tragic.”
Still, he said the increase in size the police force has seen over the past few years is positive.
“(Columbia Police) Chief (Jill) Schlude said in her budget request that she’d like to see 50 new officers over the next few years,” Waterman said. “It’s not gonna stop it completely, but I believe it would maybe give some individuals pause.”
Sample said the city is making strides toward increasing police presence downtown.
“I do think that there’s certain times that we do need additional police officers in certain spaces such as downtown, and they’re working on tracking those trends and putting people in places where they need to be,” Sample said.
Choi, Schlude, University of Missouri Police Department Chief Brian Weimer and other university officials met with Buffaloe on Monday afternoon to discuss next steps.
In a Monday night Facebook post, Buffaloe said there have been 58 confirmed incidents of gun shots fired in Columbia during the first nine months of this year. This is compared to 105 during the first nine months of last year.
Buffaloe attributed this to the city’s “proactive policing efforts,” but acknowledged that police presence is not the only action needed to prevent violence. She added that the shooting this weekend occurred despite police officers being “directly in the area.”
In the post, Buffaloe also referred to the incident as “senseless gun violence” and pledged her commitment to “reduce violence (and) address homelessness.”
In an emailed statement, Kehoe’s office confirmed that he had been in contact with Choi and local leaders “regarding the crime crisis plaguing Columbia.”
“As public safety and cracking down on crime remains his top priority, Governor Kehoe will continue to consider options to assist Columbia and communities across the state to address crime,” the statement said.
In an emailed statement, Columbia College Senior Vice President and Provost Sandra Hamar said college students “deserve to feel safe both on campus and throughout our city.”
She expressed the college’s support for Choi “who, along with many community leaders, is seeking meaningful change to ensure the safety of our city.”
Choi makes demands of city
In an email to Mizzou faculty, staff and students on Saturday, Choi called for a variety of steps ranging from more policing downtown to the elimination of policies and practices that “attract criminals.” He also suggested calling on state support to fight crime in Columbia.
Sample expressed some need for caution when it comes to state involvement.
“I think we need to find what getting involved is,” she said. “I do not think they should be directive in how our city addresses it, but I would very much welcome a partnership and collaboration.”
While Choi had called for changing some policies, he had no specifics when asked about those on Monday.
“If there’s a particular policy that he is concerned about drawing crime, then I think that needs to be said out loud so that it can be appropriately investigated and addressed by the city,” Sample said. “As we move forward, we do have a lot of work to do and we need community.”
Foster also questioned Choi’s comment about city policies.
“I think the suggestion that there are policies that attract a criminal element to our city, and that city leadership is responsible for that, is disappointing,” he said.
Foster emphasized the need to address underlying factors that can lead to an increase in crime, such as poverty, generational trauma and a lack of access to adequate mental health services. He added that supporting the Office of Violence Prevention and other similar work that is being done in neighborhoods throughout the community is imperative.
During the news conference, Choi referenced crime numbers, which he said were provided by Schlude, showing crime against property is up 40%. According to the Columbia Police Department, crimes against property includes robbery, larceny, burglary and motor vehicle theft. The Police Department confirmed that crimes against property are up in the area. However, the city’s crime trends dashboard shows crimes against property are down compared to last year.
Foster noted that the latest report the council received from the Police Department included year-to-date data that showed a 6% increase in violent crime and an overall 29% decrease in firearm-related incidents.
First Ward Councilperson Valorie Carroll urged that “we take time to acknowledge the victims and the families.”
“It feels rather sudden to me,” she said about Choi’s call for emergency action.
“I’m afraid that we have moved past this too quickly into a politically charged narrative in a way that does a disservice to the communities involved,” she added.
Sample and Foster emphasized the community’s need to support Williams’ family in their loss.
”The focus needs to really be on the family that lost their loved one. This is not over for them, and the community needs to show love and comfort to that family,” Sample said.
This article was originally published in the Columbia Missourian and is republished here with permission.
