What's the latest on the fatal Columbus police shooting of Donovan Lewis?

More than five months after the fatal police shooting of Donovan Lewis, the 20-year-old's family has filed a lawsuit against Columbus police and officer Ricky Anderson, according to Rex Elliott, an attorney for the family.

Lewis was fatally shot early Aug. 30 while K-9 officer Anderson and several other officers were trying to arrest him on multiple felony and misdemeanor warrants.

What does the lawsuit say?

The lawsuit, which was filed Thursday morning in Franklin County Common Pleas Court, Elliott said, accuses Anderson and Columbus police of violating Lewis' rights. Multiple other officers who were on the scene on Aug. 30 are also named in the lawsuit.

The lawsuit alleges wrongful death, battery, a breach of duty, intentional infliction of emotional distress and accuses the officers of failing to abide by Andre's Law, which requires police officers to give first aid until paramedics arrive.

What did Donovan Lewis' autopsy show?

The autopsy report for Donovan Lewis showed he was shot one time in the abdomen. The bullet entered the right lower part of his abdomen, traveling right to left and coming to rest near his left hip.

The report showed there was internal bleeding.

Lewis had a small amount of tetrahydrocannabinol, commonly known as THC, in his system. THC is the substance largely responsible for the effects of marijuana in a person's system.

Lewis' death was ruled a homicide, meaning his death was at the hands of another.

Why was Donovan Lewis wanted by Columbus police?

Police obtained multiple warrants for Lewis, who had a pending felony charge of improper handling of a firearm and warrants for a misdemeanor probation violation and misdemeanor charges filed in connection with an Aug. 10 domestic violence and assault incident involving Lewis' girlfriend, court records show.

Donovan Lewis shooting:What else do we know about Lewis and fatal police shooting?

What led to the Columbus police shooting?

Police body camera video shows Lewis did not respond to officers at the door of Lewis' apartment on Sullivant Avenue, who arrived shortly after 2 a.m. and were knocking for eight to 10 minutes and identifying themselves as police.

One of two other young men in the apartment finally answered. Those two men, who have not been identified or charged, were detained in handcuffs outside the second-floor apartment at the three-story building on the 3200 block of Sullivant.

Full video: Columbus police body camera footage of Donovan Lewis shooting

Police, including a K-9 and his handler, Anderson, a 30-year veteran, went into the apartment. Police warn that they will release the dog, but Anderson leashes the K-9 as he and another officer approach the closed bedroom door where Lewis is inside. Anderson opened the bedroom door as the other officer yelled "Hands."

Within a second of the door opening, Anderson leans into the doorway opening and shoots Lewis, who was sitting up in bed with what Police Chief Elaine Bryant said later turned out to be a vape pen in his left hand. Lewis was handcuffed, patted down and carried out of the apartment and downstairs to a grass area outside.

After Lewis was handcuffed, patted down and carried from the second-floor apartment down a set of outside stairs, officers rendered medical aid by applying what appears to be a trauma bandage and performing CPR. Medics, who did not immediately respond despite being told three times to go straight into the scene, arrive several minutes later and took Lewis to OhioHealth Grant Medical Center, where he died at 3:19 a.m.

Did Donovan Lewis have a gun?

A search warrant return filed by Columbus police in Franklin County Municipal Court on Wednesday shows what was collected as evidence from Lewis' second-floor apartment. The return warrant shows no firearm was found in the apartment.

While the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is the lead agency investigating the shooting, Columbus police obtained the search warrant on their behalf. The document requested that BCI agents be able to execute the search warrant.

The search warrant return shows that two items were collected by BCI at the apartment that morning. One item is the black vape pen that is seen on the body camera footage. The other is Anderson's spent cartridge casing that was found on the floor in the doorway to the bedroom from where the officer fired.

What does the family say?

In new body camera footage from after the shooting released on Thursday by Columbus police, Lewis' mother, Rebecca Duran, is seen speaking with a sergeant who is at the scene of the shooting.

Duran tells the sergeant that she received a call from Lewis' girlfriend, who had gotten called by police to alert her that a shooting had taken place. Duran asks to know what hospital Lewis was taken to and does not yet know that he has died.

In speaking with the sergeant, Duran said her son is "mentally ill" and that she "knows that's always the story." She said she had "begged" prosecutors for help for her son for years.

Previous coverage:Family's lawyer Rex Elliott criticizes Columbus officer

Duran said at a September press conference called by Lewis' family and their legal team outside Columbus City Hall that she had sought help from counselors, psychiatrists and others for the majority of his life because of issues she as a mother had recognized in her child.

More:Demonstrators march toward OSU campus Saturday in protest of Donovan Lewis police shooting

"He was special and different and had good and bad days," Duran said. "People thought it was a discipline issue and not a mental health situation."

Before a crowd of more than 150 demonstrators gathered last Friday to protest Lewis' death outside the Columbus Division of Police headquarters Downtown, Lewis' parents publicly spoke for the first time about him.

"He was so sweet and so kind, even when someone disrespected him and there was a situation," said Daryl Lewis, Donovan's father, who is black. "He was so forgiving he would forget about it and still come to you and show you love."

Duran, who is white, said her son loved music. A song his family said he created was played at one intersection as demonstrators marched through Downtown on Sept. 2, the first of three days of demonstrations.

Where does the Ohio BCI investigation stand?

The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) finished its investigation into the shooting of Lewis in December and provided a report to the Franklin County Prosecutor's office.

Franklin County Prosecutor Gary Tyack announced shortly thereafter that special prosecutors Tim Merkle and Gary Shroyer would lead an independent review of the report and its findings and present the case to a grand jury. The members of the grand jury will listen to evidence that is presented and determine what, if any, criminal charges should be filed.

Merkle and Shroyer have handled several other cases as special prosecutors, including the investigation into the 2021 fatal shooting of 15-year-old Ma'Khia Bryant.

What's next?

The Columbus Civilian Police Review Board unanimously passed a motion in September directing Columbus Inspector General Jacqueline Hendricks to investigate the fatal police shooting of Lewis and two other Columbus police shootings that took place in an eight-day span, Aug. 22-30, whether or not a complaint has been filed.

Besides the shooting of Lewis and the nonfatal shooting of a 17-year-old, the third police shooting incident involves a gunshot fired by an officer Aug. 22 at suspects who fled while police responded to a report of a group of armed men at the Wedgewood Apartments in the Hilltop. No one was hit, so BCI passed on that investigation, which is being conducted internally by Columbus police.

The inspector general’s office will wait until the criminal investigations into those incidents are completed before opening administrative misconduct investigations.

More:City officials call for peace, highlight reforms in Columbus Urban League forum

Per a charter amendment voters approved in November 2020, the inspector general is tasked with investigating allegations of misconduct against Columbus police officers and making recommendations to the Civilian Police Review Board. The volunteer board then decides whether to pass recommendations — including recommendations about discipline — on to the city’s public safety director or police chief.

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: The fatal Columbus police shooting of Donovan Lewis: What we know