Columbus police officer arrested, charged with strangulation and more

After a dinner out in the Polaris area last Friday evening, a Columbus police officer had a violent altercation with his girlfriend, according to court records.

Jacob Smith, who was relieved of duty in 2024, was drinking heavily at this dinner, according to prosecutors. Prosecutors said that Smith squeezed his girlfriend’s neck after she stopped driving along Gemini Boulevard, “causing the victim to lose consciousness.” Then, when she regained consciousness, prosecutors said “Smith strangled her unconscious a second time.”

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Along with being charged for felony counts of strangulation, Smith was also charged with possession of a firearm in a liquor-permit premise, which is a third-degree felony.

That evening, Smith was carrying a loaded Glock 48 while actively drinking at The Blue Sushi on Gemini Place, according to these court records. Prosecutors said that the waitress stopped serving him due to his intoxication.

Smith is being held in the Delaware County Jail on a $225,000 bond. According to a prosecutor, Smith used his one phone call in jail to allegedly ask his father to remove the rest of his guns from his residence.

He was relieved of duty in June of 2024 pending an investigation in another county, and he has been relieved of duty again since his arrest on Saturday.

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