At least the Columbus Police Department didn't draw a tiny mushroom

Whether it’s harassing Stormy Daniels to show their support of the previous guy or killing demonstrators, the Columbus Ohio police seem to have exceeded their authority. Skywriting seems a bit past the remit for a police agency that has three times more helicopters than the Chicago police.

“The city's annual operational costs for the CPD helicopter fleet at $452,000 and fuel costs at $249,000.” The CPD has a whole damn fleet of helicopters and consistently uses it to harass predominantly black neighborhoods. https://t.co/8ET6hq6RGX

— Saeed Jones (@theferocity) April 17, 2021

Overnight, one of the Columbus Division of Police helicopters traced an, um, interesting route, circling over a neighborhood on the Southeast Side of the city and spelling out “CPD” in the air. (You can view the flight path here via FlightAware.)

The “joyride,” as it was described on Twitter by Columbus City Council president pro tempore Elizabeth Brown, has drawn wide criticism on social media today, with Brown writing that she was “beyond frustrated” with the flight path in light of a bill she proposed last summer to decrease the size of the city’s helicopter fleet by one. (The measure was eventually tabled after CPD argued the helicopters were essential.)

[…]

In June 2020, the Columbus Dispatch reported the city’s annual operational costs for the CPD helicopter fleet at $452,000 and fuel costs at $249,000.

In addition to the wasted dollars, several accounts on Twitter also noted that the flight path, including the skywriting portion of the trek, hewed strictly to predominantly Black neighborhoods.

www.columbusalive.com/…

the Chicago Police Department has 2 helicopters. the Columbus Police Department has 6 helicopters… 🤔

— pumpkim 🎃 (@nobighair) April 17, 2021

https://twitter.com/ntohny/status/1383527165438791684?ref_src=twsrc%

Two veteran Columbus, Ohio, police officers were fired and another pair were temporarily removed from their positions after investigators found that their arrest of Stormy Daniels at a local strip club was "improper," authorities said. https://t.co/ThG1Lk6dSa

— ABC News (@ABC) January 24, 2020

This is pure authoritarian-style harassment – which I somehow know ⁦@MichaelAvenatti⁩ will not let stand!
“Prosecutors in Columbus, Ohio, on Thursday dropped all criminal charges against porn star Stormy Daniels, hours after police arrested her.” https://t.co/y5k94WATKV

— Amy Siskind 🏳️‍🌈 (@Amy_Siskind) July 12, 2018

28 Year Old Activist Amber Evans vanished nearly a month ago, Her car was found abandoned near the Scioto River in Columbus, Ohio.March 23rd, 2019, Amber's body has been found in the Scioto River by the Columbus Police Special Victims Bureau 😞#HeroAmberEvans pic.twitter.com/VhhxRNKi0v

— 1st Lady Of The West Coast (@FLOTWC) March 30, 2021

Protesters at Statehouse call for end to police killings of Black men and women https://t.co/iHmdYocpji

— Columbus Dispatch (@DispatchAlerts) April 17, 2021