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This is a tale of two Columbus police officers. One got into an off-duty fight at a Short North bar and was fired the next day. The other lied about being sick, went to a bar, assaulted a police officer, and drove drunk. One was fired and one went back to work. This is Columbus Division of Police Officer Damon Scales. On August 17th, 2025, he was relieved of duty after an off-duty incident at a local bar. You may have seen the video. I'll play it for you now. The video shows him drunk, yelling racial slurs, threatening people, and assaulting a police officer that was working security at the bar. After that, Scales was pulled from duty and placed under investigation. The officer he assaulted declined to prosecute, so he avoided the felonious assault charge. On September 11th, 2026, he returned to full duty. The chief has not yet announced his punishment, but sending him back to work means one thing: He will not be fired. Now, I don't want to see Officer Scales get fired. I've been told he's a good officer who made a poor decision. Punish him, yes. End his career, no. Other officers who have been in the same position should get the same consideration, but they're not. July 2025, Officer Amber Blackburn, off-duty, intoxicated, a bar fight, fired the very next day with no real investigation. She says she was defending herself. She's white, she's suing, and says minority officers in her position kept their jobs. >> They did this ostensibly, um, and I think demonstrably based on the fact that she's a white woman because we have several other instances in which, um, other probationary officers similarly situated, um, were given a free pass for conduct way more egregious. >> The attorney claims Blackburn was acting in self-defense during the incident, saying she struck another woman after being punched and harassed. >> In 2016, the city paid out $750,000 to settle a lawsuit from former Sergeant Brooke Wilson, a white officer who said he was demoted because of his race. These incidents are raising concerns in Columbus that some officers are being punished because of their race, while others are getting a pass. One was fired within 24 hours. The other is back on duty. Whether it's about race or not, it doesn't look good.

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