Internal report says Columbia Police Dept. “not prepared” for May protests in downtown Columbia

The department released a 92-page review into how the department handled the protests and how they can improve for future situations

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO) — Looking back on the protests that took place last May, the Columbia Police Department says it could have done a better job in preparing and training officers for what took place.

The department released a 92-page report outlining what they could have done better and how to prepare for similar situations in the future.

In the days following George Floyd’s death, thousands converged on Columbia to speak out against and protest the ongoing police brutality happening across the nation.

According to the internal report, the Columbia Police Department received word about the event just one day in advance.

Looking back, Police Chief Skip Holbrook says he wishes his team was more prepared for what lay ahead.

“We had field force, but we had several years before we had stood the team up, provided the training, bought all new equipment, and we kind of put in on the shelf and did not maintain it at that state of readiness that we needed,” Holbrook told ABC Columbia.

The report said the department’s mobile field force (MFF) underwent training approximately 3-4 years ago, but only new officers received basic training as they joined the department since. It also said since protests had been historically peaceful in Columbia, the department did not “anticipate violence and was not prepared for the degree or speed at which the violence escalated.”

The report lists an hour-by-hour rundown of what took place on May 30 and 31, detailing events like police cars on fire, people throwing rocks at officer, an officer getting hit with a slab of concrete leading to a chipped bone fracture in his leg, and other incidents that led to 24 vehicles being damaged (about $160,400 in damage, according to the report).

After several days of protests, the Department says 90 people were arrested, and several officers were injured.

In the months after the protests, the Department and the City of Columbia teamed up to review the actions leading up to and during the protests. 

The report ultimately recommended that the department should prepare as early as possible for future large-scale protests and train officers more often on crowd control.

Chief Holbrook said the purpose of the 92-page report was to increase transparency and accountability for the department within the community.

“I think it takes courage, first of all, to take a critical look at yourself and offer criticisms. We felt like it was worthy of putting a group together to really do a deep dive, but most importantly, to take that real critical look to see if we can identify gaps where we can improve,” Chief Holbrook said.

For a full look at the report, click here.