The family of a 20-year-old man from Ohio are demanding answers after he was shot and killed by Columbus police while sitting, unarmed, in bed.
Donovan Lewis died in the early hours of Tuesday, after the 3am raid on his home in the Hilltop district of the city, which was recorded on police body cameras.
Police knocked on the door for several minutes, and handcuffed two men who came out of the apartment. They sent in a K-9, and when the dog indicated a third man was in the room the K-9 handler opened the door, firing his gun a second later and killing Lewis.
Rex Elliott, an attorney for the Lewis family, said Officer Ricky Anderson – who has been placed on leave pending an investigation – was ‘entirely reckless’.
Donovan Lewis, 20, was shot and killed by police in Columbus, Ohio, shortly before 3am on Tuesday while he was in bed
Lewis is seen in the split second before Ricky Anderson, a K-9 handler and 30-year veteran of Columbus police, pulls the trigger
‘The bodycam footage released yesterday afternoon says it all,’ said Elliott.
‘In literally the blink of an eye, a Columbus Police Officer shot and killed Donovan Lewis, an unarmed young black man who was alone in his bed in the middle of the night.
‘As a result of this entirely reckless behavior by a Columbus Police Officer, a family is left to grieve the loss of such a young soul.’
The body camera footage shows at least three officers arrive at the apartment complex on Sullivant Avenue.
They were serving a felony warrant for domestic violence, assault, and weapons-related incidents on the second floor of the apartment complex.
The video shows the officers standing outside the door knocking for at least eight minutes, yelling at those inside to come out.
Two men came out of the apartment, and were handcuffed and asked to sit down by a wall. One officer asks if Donovan Lewis is inside, and the man replies that he does not know who is inside, as he was sleeping.
Two men come out of the apartment with their hands up and are handcuffed
Police knocked for eight minutes before the first of the two men emerged from the apartment
One of the two was asked who else was in the apartment, and said they did not know
A K-9 is brought in, and released into the apartment, handled by Anderson – a 30-year veteran of the force.
The dog barks at a bedroom door, indicating there is a person inside.
Seconds later, a dog is seen barking at a back bedroom, which prompted Anderson to leash the K-9 and push the door open.
‘We’re gonna send that dog in,’ one officer is heard saying just before Anderson pushes open the door.
The light from the gun of another officer is seen shining on Lewis as another officer yells: ‘Hands!’
The K-9 is seen searching the apartment, and honing in on the bedroom where Lewis lay in bed
Anderson is seen restraining his dog moments after the fatal shooting
The gunshot was fired by Anderson (right, with the dog) less than a second after the door was opened
Less than a second later, Anderson is seen firing a shot at Lewis as he starts to sit up in a bed pushed in the back corner of the room.
In the footage, Lewis can be seen raising his right hand toward officers, while his left hand is still back near the pillow.
An officer then demands Lewis ‘crawl out here’, but the young man remains on the bed.
They enter the room, and search for weapons before handcuffing him, telling him to ‘stop resisting’. A vape pen was found beside him.
He is carried out the apartment, and taken to a waiting ambulance.
Lewis died in hospital.
Lewis is seen lying slumped in the bed. He was handcuffed and carried downstairs before an ambulance arrived
Officers are seen standing outside the complex after the fatal shooting of Lewis
‘Frame by frame, the video reveals the truth — three white officers accompanied by an aggressive K9 dog shot an unarmed 20-year-old in cold blood as he sat up in his bed in compliance with police commands,’ said Elliott.
Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant said Anderson had been placed on leave, and emphasized that they wanted full transparency in the investigation – which was why they released the footage.
‘Donovan Lewis lost his life,’ she said.
‘As a parent, I sympathize and grieve with his mother. I grieve with our community.
‘Every day, officers are put in compromising, sometimes life-threatening situations in which we are required to make split-second decisions.
‘As the chief, it is my job to hold my officers accountable, but it’s also my job to offer them support and make sure I give that to them during the process.
‘If they do the right things for the right reasons, we will support them. If they do something wrong, they will be held accountable.’