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An Ohio police officer is out of the force for fatally shooting 20-year-old Donovan Lewis, who was lying in bed as police opened fire on him, according to NBC News. The Columbus Division of Police announced on March 3 that Officer Ricky Anderson “retired in bad standing due to the ongoing criminal and administrative investigations into the death of" Lewis.
On August 30, 2022, police officers entered Lewis' home to arrest him on multiple warrants, including domestic violence and felony improper handling of a firearm. Body camera footage shows Anderson shooting Lewis as soon as he opened the bedroom door despite the Black man not having a weapon. Lewis later died from a gunshot wound to his abdomen, reporters said.
A police spokesperson explained that retirement in bad standing means the officer will still receive a pension but can't keep his gun or police badge after leaving the division.
Attorneys representing Lewis' family called the police's decision "cowardly" after repeatedly demanding Anderson get terminated since the shooting.
"This family deserves so much better," a statement from lawyers Rex Elliott, Michael Wright, and Ben Cooper reads. "Mr. Lewis’ family and our community will not forget about him and the way in which city leaders have so poorly handled this totally unnecessary killing."
The family has also filed a wrongful death civil lawsuit against the city of Columbus and the five white officers serving the warrant. The Franklin County Prosecutor's Office also has special prosecutors reviewing the case to present to a grand jury, who will decide if there will be charges in Lewis' death.
Nobody has been formally charged in the 20-year-old's fatal shooting.
This wasn't the first time the Columbus Police Department was in hot water for police brutality. In April 2021, an officer fatally shot 16-year-old Ma'Khia Bryant but was later cleared of any wrongdoing. That same year, the city reached a $10 million settlement with the family of Andrew Hill, a 47-year-old Black man fatally shot by another Columbus police officer.
In September 2021, the U.S. Justice Department agreed to review the police force's practices at the request of Mayor Andrew J. Zinther and City Attorney Zach Klein.
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