Crime-ridden residents say police suggest they move elsewhere

Allen Carrel recently called police to tell them about the latest drug deal he watched go down in his Columbus city, South Side neighbourhood.

"Police say, 'Well, why did you move here? Why don't you move out if you don't like it?'" said Carrel, who said he calls police at least once a week.

Others complain that they have heard the same. "They tell us to move out of the neighbourhood," said Ellen Bowers, who also lives on the South Side. "We just want to clean our neighbourhood up," she said this week.

James Ragland, aide to Columbus City Council member Charleta Tavares, said he has received more than 20 similar calls from residents from areas including the South Side, Linden and the King-Lincoln District.

"We don't want to see a mass exodus of our best residents leaving the community because police are recommending (it)," Ragland said. "We don't want our officers to be the tipping point."

Jim Gilbert, president of Fraternal Order of Police Capital City Lodge No. 9, said officers become weary over time. "It's like the OK Corral out there," he said. "I know it's very frustrating for officers on the street, we're so overworked. We want citizens' support."