Ohio police on Wednesday released shocking body camera footage of a police officer fatally shooting an unarmed black man lying in his bed.
The video shows Columbus police officer Ricky Anderson, a 30-year veteran of the department, and other officers opening a bedroom door at around 2 a.m. Tuesday and killing 20-year-old Donovan Lewis as he was on the bed.
According to reports, Lewis was unarmed and found next to a vape pen. The reports further claims that the Police went to the house to serve Lewis’ arrest warrants for domestic violence, assault and firearm misuse.
Body camera footage shows officers banging on a door for eight to 10 minutes, calling Donovan by name. Police then handcuffed two men who arrived at the apartment door before Anderson entered with a K-9.
While the officers were at the door, the ”police dog” started barking outside the bedroom door, which indicated to the policeman that there was a person in the room.
Shortly after opening the door, Anderson is seen firing a single shot at the man, later identified as Lewis, who appears to be raising his hands.
An officer then repeatedly shouted “Hands!” before telling Lewis to “crawl out of here”, but the injured 20-year-old stayed in bed.
More than 20 seconds later, another officer says, “I’m going in, cover for me.” Two police officers enter the room and order Lewis to put his hands behind his back. The cops tell Lewis to “stop resisting” before leading him out of the apartment.
Once Lewis left the building and was handcuffed, the police began administering CPR and other first aid before paramedics arrived. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he died shortly after 3am.
During a press conference, Columbus Police Commissioner Elaine Bryant said Lewis appeared to be holding “something” the moment Anderson opened fire. A vape pen was later retrieved from his bed.
“Donovan Lewis lost his life,” Bryant said. “As a father, I sympathize and grieve for his mother. As a community, I fight with our community.
Anderson has since been placed on leave to conduct an investigation into the shooting. The Ohio Department of Criminal Investigation is leading the investigation.
The deceased’s family released a statement on Wednesday saying they were asking for support as they cried.
“In literally the blink of an eye, a Columbus police officer shot and killed Donovan Lewis, an unarmed young black man who was lying alone in his bed in the middle of the night,” the statement said. “Frame by frame, the video reveals the truth – three white police officers, accompanied by an aggressive K9 dog, shot and killed an unarmed 20-year-old in cold blood as he sat on his bed, on police orders.”
The Lewis murder is the third police shooting in the city of Columbus this week, officials said.
