Community members are calling for more information about the 2021 death of Quilan Jacobs by officers

Columbia community members are calling for greater police oversight following the release of a recent report on the 2021 officer-involved shooting death of Quilan Jacobs.

Jacobs was allegedly involved in a fire outside Vibez Lounge on November 14, 2021 that left five people injured, Jacobs was shot and killed by officers shortly thereafter.

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Recently released medical examiner and police reports indicated that officers failed to activate body-worn cameras, that Jacobs was shot 13 times, and that there was no gunshot residue found on Jacobs.

Chris Jones, representing Stop Police Violence, a division of local advocacy organization Race Matters, Friends, called on the council and City Administrator D’Carlon Seud to reopen the case during a public comment at Monday’s Columbia City Council meeting.

“The coroner ruled (Jacob’s) death a homicide,” he said. “It’s time to learn from history so we don’t have to repeat the cycle of police violence. … Join me and say his name, Quilan Jacobs!”

He cited conflicting written police reports and ballistics reports in which only two bullets could not be attributed to handguns provided by Columbia Police Department officers.

Jacobs’ family held signs with his name in the audience at a Columbia City Council meeting Monday.

Columbia business owner Anthony Wilroth raised other oversight concerns related to city police regarding the charges filed against Donnie Jackson last week. Jackson was allegedly involved in a shooting that hit the Locust Street area in October that injured three people, including a University of Missouri student.

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Before the October shooting, Jackson’s family had a civil lawsuit against the leadership of the city’s police department related to human rights violations, Willroth said, citing other media reports that the civil suit was in U.S. District Court but was dismissed after family member Stephen’s death. vice, Due to natural causes in Juneshe added.

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Willroth said he has seen footage from a civilian body-worn police camera, which he alleges features Columbia Police Chief Geoff Jones.

Willroth’s allegations of officer conduct should not be defended by attorneys for the city, he said.

Lara Gutierrez Perez, a former member of the Citizens Police Review Board, also called for better civilian oversight of police.

“These families are waiting for answers and I think you owe them those answers,” he said. “…We need effective civilian oversight. SB 26 made the police accountable to no one.”

Those are questions the public needs to answer, said First Ward Council Member Pat Fowler after public comment at the end of Monday’s meeting.

He also mentioned a closed-door meeting where council members received more background information on the recently publicly released information. Council members are not yet able to speak publicly about the information received, he said, which was also supported by Third Ward Council Member Roy Lovelady.

“I’ve gotten a lot of calls and questions. … Extend us some grace because there are things we can’t say,” he said.

From 2021: The family of the suspect in the Nov. 14 shooting holds vigil after he was killed by police

Mayor Barbara Buffalo specifically sought feedback from City Manager D’Carlon Seud about the investigation into Jacobs’ death.

When Jacobs was killed, it launched an independent Missouri Highway Patrol investigation, Seud said, into public misinformation about his death.

Patrol investigations only look at officer-involved shootings and do not review what led to them, he said.

“We have three separate investigations. One is the highway patrol, an investigation that led to an officer-involved shooting and an internal affairs investigation,” Seud said, adding that a gun and shell casings were found.

The city’s investigative report was released with approval from the county prosecutor’s office, he added.

City leaders still need to figure out what can be said and acknowledge what happened, Buffalo said.

“It’s just as damaging not to acknowledge it. … It’s important to acknowledge it when these things happen,” he said.

Charles Dunlap covers local government, community stories and other general topics for the Tribune. You can contact him at [email protected] or @CD_CDT on Twitter. subscribe To support vital local journalism.

This article originally appeared in the Columbia Daily Tribune: Community members want new investigation into 2021 officer-involved shooting