Q&A: Police Chief Geoff Jones, Mayor Brian Treece on rise in violence in downtown Columbia

Columbia Police Chief Geoff Jones and Mayor Brian Treece on Sunday took questions from the public and media related to a "mass casualty incident" that occurred early Sunday morning and their plans to address a rise in violence downtown.

The city called for the emergency briefing hours after police fatally shot a suspect involved in an overnight gunfight that injured five people outside Vibez Lounge.

The five injured victims are all in stable condition, Jones said Sunday.

The other suspect involved in the shooting, Todd Duron Nesbitt, 28, of Columbia, was arrested Sunday afternoon after initially fleeing from the scene, Jones said Monday. Nesbitt was charged with armed criminal action and assault in the first degree. He was remanded to the custody of the Boone County Jail and is being held on no bond.

"Detectives were able to quickly identify this suspect and take him into custody," Jones said. "We are thankful for the community’s assistance, and this kind of relationship needs to continue if we’re going to take care of each other and keep Columbia safe."

More: Columbia police: 1 killed, 5 injured in 'mass casualty incident' downtown

The identity of the suspect killed by police has not yet been made public.

Jones describes a "mass casualty incident" as anytime there are multiple victims at one scene and the police call for ambulances to go to a Level 1 Trauma Center, he said.

This was the second shooting downtown in as many weeks. After multiple shots were fired Nov. 6 outside of Gold Bar at the corner of Hitt Street and Broadway, the city on Friday announced steps being taken in conjunction with the University of Missouri and The District to prevent violence and ensure safety in the downtown area.

More: Columbia police increase downtown safety measures amid rise in violence

The following are excerpts from Sunday's Q&A with Jones and Treece:

What does the Columbia Police Department plan to do going forward in light of some of the recent shootings occurring in places where there is already police presence?

Jones: "I think you hit the nail on the head there. The police were present at the Gold Bar shooting. The police were present at the shooting last night. This isn't a police-only issue. This is a community issue that is going to take responsible business owners and responsible community partners — and that's in The District and outside. This doesn't just happen downtown. ... Honestly it infuriates me that people have to pull guns on each other to solve an issue."

Chief Jones said the police can't simply arrest its way out of these problems. What are police officers doing to help deter violent crime downtown?

Jones: "We do our part. We help bring people together. We have relationships with people that oftentimes people don't think we have relationships with. We regularly do work that isn't law enforcement work, but we do the law enforcement side, too, and we are going to do our job. And our job means that if you are going to go outside and shoot at somebody, we are going to lock you up. I have said all along that we are going to pursue people that prey on other people, and we are going to keep doing that."

Treece: "The police are doing their job, but it takes the rest of us to do (our) job. In (recent shooting incidents), the property owner is not necessarily the business owner. We have a zero tolerance model when it comes to residential apartment leases: If there is gun violence on that property, they're out. And I think it's time that bar owners and their property owners need to have this same zero tolerance policy. There have been five shootings at Vibez, we have had multiple shootings up the street, and everybody needs to take part in their responsibility to get these folks out, because if there's guns and alcohol and students, that's a potent cocktail that doesn't mix."

More: How the University of Missouri decides when to issue emergency campus alerts

What can the average citizen do to help eliminate these issues? Are you looking for those people to help?

Jones: "One is cooperate when we show up. We have business owners that don't cooperate when we show up. We have witnesses to shootings — when their friends are getting shot and they themselves are getting shot — that don't cooperate. If you see something, say something. Be a responsible citizen."

What stage are you at with your desire for increased community involvement?

Jones: "I'm not going to mince words. I'll tell you that, even though I have taken initiative to be a partner in that, it's not solely my responsibility, nor have I ever taken responsibility for that to be my responsibility, and I don't today. ... As I think everybody can tell, I'm on fire today. We have reached out to just about any group or person who would listen. We've asked for ideas. We've asked for collaboration. COVID, granted, did shut us down a little bit, but I have cops out on the street making connections with neighborhood watches, with kids at school, with different clubs. You name it, we go. ... We're making those connections and those partnerships like I promised. ... This is not a policing issue anymore. This is a community issue, and we're going to be involved as partners, but that doesn't mean that we can always take the lead. I don't have the resources, the money or, quite frankly, the expertise to stop all of the things that are happening that lead to violence."

Do you think the updated downtown safety plan the city released last week, including increased foot patrols and stricter enforcement of alcohol-related offenses, helped Sunday?

Jones: "I think that officer presence for most people is probably a deterrent. We're dealing with traffic and crowd dynamics. If you've been downtown late at night, you've seen cars stopping in the middle of the road and people getting out of their cars and sitting on the hood of the car on Broadway. We're not allowing that. That creates the atmosphere that the mayor talked about, and we're dealing with that. You don't know what you don't know, so I don't know if that prevented something last night. I hope that it would and I would say that it's best practice."

Are there regulations for businesses to have adequate, appropriate and properly trained security guards?

Treece: "To my knowledge, we do not have any type of municipal ordinance that requires any type of training of bouncers, any requirement for security. ... I think we need to take a close look at municipal ordinances. We can either shut down two bars, or we can have no drink specials and 12 o'clock, 11:30 closings for everybody, and I don't think people want that. More importantly, I want everyone to feel safe in the street. Whether that's 3 in the morning, whether you're going to an outdoor music concert or a movie theater or a dinner downtown or walking home from dinner to the Broadway Hotel, we shouldn't have our lives interrupted by gun violence."

Are there any city-based programs that offer training related to how bars can curb and prevent violence?

Jones: "We talked with bar owners and they actually took it upon themselves to provide training within that bar group. What we have focused on mainly is over-service of minors. Over-service in general leads to a lot of problems. As far as security guard training, the city has an ordinance that makes it where we have to give them a permit to be an armed security guard. It's outdated. Missouri law has changed and people can carry guns. I do not believe that it is the city's responsibility to train security guards."

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Geoff Jones, Brian Treece discuss Columbia's rise in downtown violence