( Observer Network News) According to multiple US media reports, in the early morning of August 30, local time, the Ohio police shot and killed Donovan Lewis, an unarmed 20-year-old black man, while entering a home to execute a search warrant.
Live law enforcement video showed that the police first pushed open the door of Lewis's bedroom and saw Lewis sitting up from the bed. Then, a police officer suddenly shot at him, killing Lewis. The officer was placed on paid leave after the shooting, and Lewis' family said they wanted justice for him.
CNN (CNN): Body camera video shows that a police officer in Columbus, Ohio shot and killed an unarmed 20-year-old black man
According to a report by CNN on September 1, the shooting occurred in Columbus, the capital of Ohio . The city’s police chief Elaine Bryant announced the incident at a press conference on August 30.
According to Bryant, at around 2 a.m. on the 30th, uniformed police officers came to an apartment building to execute a felony search warrant. According to local TV station NBC4's review of court records, the subject of this search was Lewis, who was charged with improper use of a firearm, assault and domestic violence.
Video captured by police body cameras shows them knocking on the door repeatedly for more than eight minutes, calling out to the people living inside and calling Lewis's name several times.
Eventually, a man opened the door and was detained by police. He told police he was sleeping and officers pulled a knife from his pocket. About a minute later, a second man inside the apartment was also taken into custody. Unable to determine if anyone else was in the apartment, police called Ricky Anderson from the canine unit to search with his dog.
According to reports, the police dog first trotted through the kitchen and then barked at a bedroom door. Anderson grabbed the dog's collar with one hand and pushed the door open with the other. When he saw Lewis sitting up from the bed, Anderson immediately shot him.
At a news conference, Police Chief Bryant showed frame by frame the police body camera video and claimed that Lewis appeared to have "something" in his hand at the moment Anderson fired. Later, police found an e-cigarette pen next to Lewis' bed, but no weapons.
After Lewis was shot, police handcuffed him and resuscitated him until Columbus firefighters arrived and took him to the hospital. Lewis was pronounced dead at the hospital at 3:19 a.m. on the 30th.
After the shooting, Anderson was placed on paid leave, and the Ohio Division of Criminal Investigation has intervened in the matter to investigate. Rex Elliot, an attorney for the Lewis family, said in a statement to local TV station WSYX that the video released on the 30th said it all, "In the blink of an eye, a Columbus police officer shot and killed Donovan Lewis, an unarmed young black man who was lying alone in bed late at night. A family is in mourning because of this completely reckless behavior by a Columbus police officer."
"The video reveals the truth frame by frame - three white police officers, accompanied by a ferocious police dog, shot and killed an unarmed 20-year-old man in cold blood as he sat up in bed following police orders. This type of excessive and completely unnecessary force has become all too common in Columbus."
Elliott said that he and Lewis's family will seek justice for Lewis. "No more young black people can be killed like this."
It is worth noting that according to a report by WSYX TV on August 30, in the past 8 days alone, there have been three police-related shootings in Columbus.
The first incident occurred on August 22. Columbus police had an argument with others when responding to an incident involving multiple people carrying guns. A police officer fired at least one shot. Fortunately, no one was hit.The second incident occurred on August 27. At that time, the police stopped a car and two men jumped out of the car and tried to escape. At this time, a police officer opened fire, hitting a 17-year-old boy. The teenager was taken to hospital in critical condition but later stabilized. The third incident was the shooting incident of Lewis on the 30th.
Police enforcement videos related to these three incidents were released on the 30th. Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther promised that the city will achieve full transparency and information sharing as soon as possible within its capabilities. "If there is any misconduct, we will be committed to holding the police accountable."
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