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Family of Donovan Lewis, the 20-year-old Black man who was fatally shot in bed on Tuesday by a Columbus Police officer while possibly holding a vape pen, is demanding answers and justice after the latest act of police brutality in a city with an ugly history.
“He was treated like an animal,” Columbus attorney Rex Elliott, who is representing the family, said after playing the body-camera footage at a press conference on Thursday. “There was no justification—let me be clear—no justification for officer [Ricky] Anderson to shoot an unarmed man trying to get out of bed as police officers were instructing him to do.”
The Columbus Division of Police said that at around 2:28 a.m. on Tuesday, officers attempted to serve a felony warrant at a second-floor apartment on Sullivant Avenue. Body-camera footage released later that day showed that after apprehending two other people in the apartment, officers went into a back bedroom where Lewis was sleeping—and that he was shot about a second after the door was opened. Lewis had one hand raised as Officer Ricky Anderson, who had a K-9, opened fire.