In the United States, a police officer shot a black man, unarmed, in his bed

In the video, a police officer pushes open a bedroom door and shoots a young black man, Donovan Lewis, as he sits on his bed.

“At this time, it is critical that last night’s shooting video and all available facts be shared, in the interest of full transparency,” Columbus City Council President Shannon Hardin said in a tweet that included the video and a link to a local newspaper article about the incident. The State Criminal Investigation Bureau is conducting an independent investigation, she added.

A press release from the police department revealed the identity of the officer who killed Lewis. The officer’s name is Ricky Anderson and he is a canine unit officer who has been with the police force for 30 years. He alleges that he shot because Lewis raised his hand and that he seemed to have something in it. At the victim’s bedside, a vape cartridge was later found.

According to local media Columbus Dispatchwhich reported statements made by Columbus police at a news conference, officers came to Lewis’s apartment with a police dog to execute a warrant for his arrest on alleged charges of mishandling a firearm, domestic violence and assault.

“Donovan Lewis lost his life. As a mother, I feel sorry for him and I share his mother’s pain,” Police Chief Elaine Bryant (also black) said at Thursday’s news conference. “I am in mourning with our community. We are going to allow this investigation to take place,” she added.

Lewis’s family attorney, Rex Elliott, called the agent’s actions “inexcusable.” He added at a news conference that there was “no doubt” that “the video tells all of us, each one of us, exactly what happened in the early hours of August 30.”

An unarmed man sitting on his bed

In the video, officers knock on Lewis’s apartment door (and not his bedroom door) and identify themselves before two men come out and are handcuffed. The two men noticed that there were other people sleeping inside. Then the police station themselves at the door and loudly announce that they will send a dog inside.

“Columbus Police. If you’re inside, come closer,” an officer says. One man can be heard saying off-camera: “They’re sleeping.” The officer repeats: “Get out. Get out now.”

The agents then follow the dog to Lewis’s room; the animal barks to indicate that there is someone behind the bedroom door. The officers yell that the police dog is coming in as Anderson opens the door. Lewis is seen with his left hand on the mattress, perhaps trying to figure out what was happening, as Officer Anderson shoots without waiting a second. The young man falls on the bed.

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As the victim writhes and groans in pain, the officers order him to “crawl” out of the room and not resist arrest. Lewis, in agony, is handcuffed on the bed. He will die shortly after in a hospital and no weapon will be found on his floor, Elaine Bryant confirmed. As for Anderson, he has been suspended for the time being, as dictated by city procedure.

“There is absolutely no possibility that – in the time between opening the door and being shot – Officer Anderson perceived a potential weapon in (Lewis’s) hand…” the family’s attorney said.

“Police shot and killed Donovan Lewis while he was in one of the most vulnerable places a person can be: their bed. As the investigation progresses, some may point to the fact that police were trying to execute a court order when he shot Lewis, as to suggest that an alleged crime warrants immediate execution,” Kelly Sampson, director of racial justice for the Brady Organization, a group that fights gun violence, said in a statement.

The Lewis family’s attorney also questioned why the police chose to execute their warrant in the middle of the night.

“Chief Bryant’s explanation that ‘we do it to make sure they are home’ is absurd. The reality is that warrants are executed every day in broad daylight,” he said.

In Ohio, blacks are 4.5 times more likely to be killed by police than whites

In the United States, this murder joins an endless series of murders of unarmed black youth at the hands of security forces. According to a 2019 study from Northwestern University, blacks are 2.5 times more likely to be executed by police than whites in this country. This statistic is even more staggering in the state of Ohio, where blacks are 4.5 times more likely to be killed by police than whites.

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In 2016, in Columbus, police killed a 13-year-old black boy who was carrying a toy gun. In December 2020, also in Columbus, Andre Hill, a 47-year-old unarmed black man, was shot four times by a police officer as he was leaving a friend’s house. In April of last year, again in the state capital, a police officer shot and killed Ma’Khia Bryant, a 16-year-old black girl, outside her home. After an investigation, the agent was acquitted.

The Columbus Urban League, an organization that campaigns for racial justice, convened a community forum Saturday to discuss the incident.

“Yesterday’s shooting is leading to painful and mixed reactions. We understand that the execution of a criminal warrant can create a highly volatile and dangerous situation. However, the video is just as heartbreaking as the fact that another black man has lost his life,” said Stephanie Hightower, president of the group, it’s a statement.

“Whatever the final conclusion, our community deserves an independent, thorough and transparent investigation by all relevant entities.”

“As a city, as a community, as human beings, we should be outraged by the events of Tuesday morning, and each of us should demand immediate reform,” said attorney Elliott.

“So that not one more life – and certainly not one more young life – is claimed in this way,” he added.

AP, Reuters, local media