Columbia Police Department provides update on Oct. 3-4 downtown law enforcement detail

The Columbia Police Department (CPD) would like to provide an update on the proactive enforcement detail that occurred Oct. 3 and 4 in downtown Columbia.

CPD would like to thank the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Boone County Sheriff's Office and the University of Missouri Police Department for their enthusiastic participation in this detail and partnership in increased enforcement downtown. Among all agencies involved, there were approximately 27 law enforcement officers each night participating in the detail.

"I think the community would be surprised by the amount of firearms that were being legally carried downtown this weekend," said Assistant Chief Mark Fitzgerald. "On Friday night alone, we located and returned firearms to approximately 20 individuals who were stopped by police and did not appear to be patronizing any business downtown."

This weekend's efforts come following months of increased enforcement downtown by CPD.

A notable contact from the weekend:

On Oct. 3, a Street Crimes Unit (SCU) detective conducted a traffic stop at Cherry Street and Eighth Street on a vehicle for failing to display two license plates on the vehicle. The front-seat passenger in the vehicle was identified as Damion Hunt, 32, of Columbia. During the stop, a semi-automatic rifle was observed wrapped in a jacket between Hunt's feet.

Hunt is a convicted felon who is prohibited from possessing firearms. The detective arrested Hunt on charges of unlawful possession of a firearm, armed criminal action and tampering with physical evidence in felony prosecution.

Hunt was involved in a shooting in downtown Columbia in 2019 in which he was arrested on original charges of first-degree assault, unlawful use of a weapon and armed criminal action. These charges were reduced to a conviction of second-degree assault, and Hunt was sentenced to seven years in the Missouri Department of Corrections that began Sept. 28, 2020.

Representatives from all of the agencies involved are scheduled to meet again this week to determine plans for this detail going forward. Listed below are the enforcement totals for the weekend for all officers working as a part of the proactive detail.

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