HOUSING AUTHORITY LOSES POLICE FUNDS

Congress Cuts Federal Grant That Supported 5-Man Force For 25 Years

The Housing Authority of Columbus will eliminate its five-man police
force by the end of the month.

But members of the force are fighting to keep the department
alive.

The authority's police force has patrolled the city's public housing
complexes for more than 25 years, funded through a federal Drug
Elimination grant.

Congress cut the program's funding, which has caused public housing
officials across the nation to dismantle or reduce police forces, Len
Williams, Columbus' Housing Authority executive director, said Friday.

"This is not a choice the Housing Authority is making," Williams said.
"We lost the funding."

Four of the five officers have hired John Rasnick, a Manchester
attorney, to represent them in their bid to save their jobs.

"I believe there are other expenses and programs that could be cut
before they cut the police," Rasnick said.

The authority has more than 2,100 public housing units, an estimated
5,000 people living in 11 public housing complexes and a staff of 185
employees.

In addition to being patrolled by the Housing Authority police, the
authority property is patrolled by the Columbus Police Department.

Columbus Assistant Police Chief Ricky Boren said the department is
aware of the loss of Housing Authority officers. The authority police
force has the same powers on public housing property as city officers.

"We have never not policed the housing authority units," Boren said.
"Our main concern is the citizens. If we get a call, we will respond.
We already ride through those areas. And we will continue to do that."

Given the CPD's strained resources, one officer said the idea of
eliminating the force was a bad one.

"I don't think it is a good idea," authority Sgt. Steven Crayton said.
"The residents don't think it is a good idea. Everybody has said it is
a bad idea -- a mistake. Especially when you consider the shortage of
police officers in Columbus."

Two of the impacted officers have accepted other jobs at the Housing
Authority and there is an attempt to place the remaining three police
officers in new jobs, Williams said.

Rasnick contends it is not a good decision.

"We are working with the NAACP," Rasnick said. "We are asking for the
Housing Authority board to become involved and reconsider whether to
disband the police department. This has been kept pretty quiet, and I
think a lot of people, if they knew about it, would not approve of
it."

Rasnick points out that the authority's police department has been
effective in reducing crime and making the complexes safer.

"They make 500 to 600 arrests a year, and those people are booked into
the Muscogee County Jail," Rasnick said. "Since 1999, they have taken
more than $55,000 in drugs off Columbus streets."