Columbus Police officer who shot, killed Donovan Lewis retires in ‘bad standing’
The Columbus Police officer who shot and killed an unarmed man while serving a warrant last year has retired in “bad standing.”
News Center 7 previously reported that a 20-year-old man, later identified as Donovan Lewis, was killed when Columbus officers executed a search warrant in the 3200 block of Sullivant Avenue on August 30, 2022.
Body cam footage showed officers entering the home and commanding occupants to come out. Officers then opened a door next to the kitchen where policeman, Ricky Anderson, opened fire.
At the time, Lewis was reportedly sleeping and was awoken by officers opening his bedroom door. Lewis was unarmed.
He suffered a gunshot wound and was transported to Grant Medical Center where he died. A toxicology analysis showed that he died within minutes of being shot, WBNS reported. The bullet pierced through his abdomen, damaged internal organs, and became lodged in his pelvis.
Anderson was placed on paid leave while the investigation ensued.
However, in recent developments, Anderson retired, effective Friday, according to WBNS. Columbus Police reported that he retired in “bad standing due to the ongoing criminal and administrative investigations into Lewis’s death.”
During his 30-year career as a law enforcement agent, the officer had a total of 58 complaints against him, including use of force and sexual harassment.
In May 2004, Anderson was “terminated for cause by the Director of Public Safety,” but had the termination overturned after “challenging the decision alongside the Fraternal Order of Police,” WBNS stated.
Lewis’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit in February against Anderson, the other four responding officers, and the Columbus Police Department.
The family is “outraged that the city of Columbus allowed the officer who killed Mr. Lewis to retire rather than firing him as the family had repeatedly asked since his tragic death,” attorneys representing the family stated.
