Current:Home > ContactPolice officer charged with murder for shooting Black man in his bed -Thrive Capital Insights
Police officer charged with murder for shooting Black man in his bed
View
Date:2025-04-18 10:57:40
Former Columbus, Ohio, police officer Ricky Anderson has been indicted on charges of murder and reckless homicide for the shooting of a Black man last year.
Anderson shot and killed 20-year-old Donovan Lewis in August 2022 during a search warrant while he was unarmed and in bed.
Body camera footage was released of the encounter last September and Anderson, a 30-year veteran of the Columbus Police Department, appears to open fire almost immediately after police open the bedroom door to where Lewis was sleeping. He later died at a hospital.
Anderson retired in bad standing months after the shooting.
"We are relieved that a grand jury concluded what we've known all along: Officer Ricky Anderson broke the law when he shot and killed an unarmed Donovan Lewis as he laid in his bed," the attorneys for Rebecca Duran, Lewis' mother, said in a statement Friday. "CPD bodycam video showed this clearly and nothing has changed in almost a year. Although Mr. Lewis' family is pleased that his killer will soon face a jury of his peers, they are incredibly disappointed that it took so long to come to this conclusion in the first place."
Police officers were executing a warrant on Lewis' home to arrest him on three separate charges: domestic violence, assault and improper handling of a firearm.
Mark Collins, the attorney for Anderson, said in a statement last September, "When we analyze police-involved shootings, we must look to the totality of the circumstances, and we are expressly forbidden from using 20/20 hindsight, because unlike all of us, officers are not afforded the luxury of armchair reflection when they are faced with rapidly evolving, volatile encounters in dangerous situations."
MORE: Family files wrongful death lawsuit against Columbus police officer who shot Donovan Lewis
Lewis' family filed a civil suit against Anderson, as well as four other officers involved in the raid, in February.
According to the complaint, Anderson had a total of 58 complaints against him over the years, including use of force complaints, and has also been reprimanded for sexual harassment while on the job.
"As prosecutors pursue Mr. Anderson in the criminal case, we will continue to fight for justice and accountability in our civil case," the lawyers for Duran said Friday. "Our hope is that no other parent has to bury their child as the result of a reckless act by a member of law enforcement."
ABC News' Nakylah Carter and Erica Y. King contributed to this report.
veryGood! (83)
Related
- Tropical weather brings record rainfall. Experts share how to stay safe in floods.
- Marvin Harrison Jr., Joe Alt among 2024 NFL draft prospects with football family ties
- Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's latest class, 8 strong, includes Mary J. Blige, Cher, Foreigner and Ozzy Osbourne
- Julie Andrews on finding her voice again, as a children's book author
- US auto safety agency seeks information from Tesla on fatal Cybertruck crash and fire in Texas
- South Carolina Senate approves $15.4B budget after debate on bathrooms and conference switching
- Detroit Lions sign Penei Sewell, Amon-Ra St. Brown to deals worth more than $230 million
- Pro-Palestinian protesters urge universities to divest from Israel. What does that mean?
- Audit: California risked millions in homelessness funds due to poor anti-fraud protections
- Chinese student given 9-month prison sentence for harassing person posting democracy leaflets
Ranking
- Meta releases AI model to enhance Metaverse experience
- Tennessee House kills bill that would have banned local officials from studying, funding reparations
- Columbia’s president, no stranger to complex challenges, walks tightrope on student protests
- More cows are being tested and tracked for bird flu. Here’s what that means
- Will the 'Yellowstone' finale be the last episode? What we know about Season 6, spinoffs
- Reggie Bush will get back 2005 Heisman Trophy that was forfeited by former USC star
- 'Abhorrent': Laid-off worker sues Foxtrot and Dom's Kitchen after all locations shutter
- Horoscopes Today, April 23, 2024
Recommendation
New Zealand official reverses visa refusal for US conservative influencer Candace Owens
Vermont House passes measure meant to crack down on so-called ghost guns
Russia extends Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich's pretrial detention yet again
2024 NFL Draft rumors: Jayden Daniels' 'dream world' team, New York eyeing trade for QB
A Georgia governor’s latest work after politics: a children’s book on his cats ‘Veto’ and ‘Bill’
Biden meets 4-year-old Abigail Mor Edan, the youngest American hostage released by Hamas
Jennifer Love Hewitt Shares What’s “Strange” About Being a Mom
The dual challenge of the sandwich generation: Raising children while caring for aging parents