Columbus Police Chief releases statement on Coomes’ arrest

Columbus Police Chief Jon Rohde has spoken out about the Wednesday arrest of former Columbus Police Officer Jeremy R. Coomes. Indiana State Police (ISP) arrested Coomes on a number of drug charges, as well as Official Misconduct, for alleged transgressions during his time as the supervisor of the department’s narcotics unit.

Chief Rohde says that, in October of 2015, he made a request to the ISP to conduct an independent criminal investigation into the alleged actions of Coomes. Rohde says that “police officers must be accountable for their actions and conduct both on and off the job.” He added that police are “expected to adhere to the oath they take and a code of ethics that holds them to the highest of standards.” The Chief says that he wants city residents to “be confident that the officers on the Columbus Police Department will be held to these high standards and the responsibilities of the position in which they are entrusted.”

Rohde went on to say that neither Coomes’ arrest, nor his alleged actions, are “reflective of the hard working men and women of the Columbus Police Department who serve our community with the integrity that is expected of law enforcement professionals.”