A Columbus police officer fatally shot a 20-year-old Black man in Ohio within a second after opening the door of his bedroom although the man was sitting unarmed, bodycam footage released by police showed. Donovan Lewis died early on Tuesday morning following a 3 a.m. raid on his home in the city's Hilltop neighborhood, which was caught on police body camera.
Columbus police say officers were at the scene to arrest Lewis on multiple warrants including domestic violence, assault, and felony improper handling of a firearm. Instead, they shot him dead. Now, Lewis' family and community organizations are demanding a transparent investigation into the incident.
Dead Even Before Realizing
According to court documents analyzed by TV station NBC4, Donovan was being detained on suspicion of assault, domestic abuse, and negligent handling of a firearm. Police officers were seen pounding on an apartment door for eight to 10 minutes in body cam footage aired by NBC4.
Two males were asked to sit down by a wall after they were handcuffed and asked to leave the flat. The man responds that he does not know who is inside since Lewis was asleep when an officer asked if Lewis is inside.
Columbus police officer Ricky Anderson, a 30-year police veteran, then brings in a K-9 and lets it out into the apartment.
When the dog barks at a bedroom door, someone is inside. A dog is then seen barking at a back bedroom, prompting Anderson to leash the K-9 and open the door seconds later.
"We're gonna send that dog in," one officer is heard saying just before Anderson pushes open the door.
Another officer cries, "Hands!" as another officer can be seen shining his gun's light on Lewis. Lewis begins to sit up in a bed that has been placed in the room's back corner less than a second after Anderson is shown shooting at him.
Lewis is seen lifting his right hand toward the officers in the video, while his left hand is still behind the cushion.
Later, Lewis is told to "crawl out here" by an officer, but he stays on the bed.
They inspect the room for weapons when they enter, handcuff the man, and order him to "stop struggling." Next to him, a vape pen was discovered.
Lewis is then seen being removed from the apartment and transferred to an ambulance that is already there. Lewis later was pronounced dead in the hospital.
Family Demands Justice
Police now believe that Lewis was just having a vape pen next to him, which Anderson thought to be a weapon. Elaine Bryant, the police chief, broke examined the footage frame by frame and claimed that Anderson pulled the trigger when Lewis seemed to lift his hand while holding onto something.
"There was, like, a vape pen that was found on the bed right next to him," Bryant said.
Lewis received treatment at the scene, was taken to a hospital, but was later declared dead. "Donovan Lewis lost his life," Bryant said in a press conference. "As a parent, I sympathize and grieve with his mother. As a community, I grieve with our community, but we're going to allow this investigation to take place."
"We are committed to full transparency ... and we're committed to holding officers accountable if there was any wrongdoing. As the chief, it is my job to hold officers accountable, but it is also my job to offer them support ... through the process."
Lewis' family is now demanding justice. Officer Ricky Anderson, who has been placed on leave pending an inquiry, was described as "entirely reckless" by Rex Elliott, a lawyer for the Lewis family.
"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."
Bryant said that they had shared the video because they wanted complete transparency in the investigation.
