The shooting of a 20-year-old Black man who was gunned down by authorities in Ohio as he lay in bed has sparked nationwide backlash in addition to calls for immediate change to policing policies.
Donovan Lewis died on Tuesday after being shot by Police Officer Ricky Anderson, a 30-year veteran with the Columbus Division of Police assigned to the K9 unit. He has since been placed on leave.
“How many more lives are going to be lost to this type of reckless activity? How many more young Black lives will be lost?” Rex Elliott, an attorney for Lewis’ family, said at a news conference Thursday
“How many more families like Donovan’s will need to appear at news conferences like this one before our leaders do enough to put a stop to these barbaric killings?”
The shooting unfolded around 2 a.m. on Tuesday inside an apartment in Columbus. Officers at the time were attempting to arrest Lewis on a felony warrant for domestic violence and assault and improper handling of a firearm. Bodycam footage released after the incident shows Anderson, who is also holding the leash of a police dog, opening a bedroom door inside the residence and shooting Lewis in about a second.
Lewis was getting out of bed, per officers’ orders, when he was shot, Elliott noted.
Police Chief Elaine Bryant has said Lewis appeared to be holding a vape pen before he was shot, though she has not specifically said whether officers’ perceived the object as threat.
“There is absolutely no way in the timeframe between when the door was opened and the gun was fired that Officer Anderson perceived a potential gun in his hand, got through to his brain, and then reacted by shooting his weapon,” Elliott said.
He also took issue with the hour the warrant was served, demanding a change in how similar incidents are handled in the future.
“The reality is that felony warrants are executed every day in daylight hours,” Elliott added. “There was absolutely no reason for this to have been served in the middle of the night like it was.”
Police took two other men in the apartment into custody without incident. They also unleashed police dogs inside the home amid their search.
With News Wire Services
