Ohio cops shot and killed a 20-year-old man within one second of encountering him Tuesday after spotting something in his hand that turned out to be a vape pen.
Columbus police were serving an arrest warrant on Donovan Lewis who was wanted for improperly handling a firearm, assault and domestic violence.
Body camera footage shows police arriving at his apartment building just before 2:30 a.m. The cops stood outside the door to his apartment and knocked for about ten minutes until a young man opened the door who was not Lewis.
That man was handcuffed along with another man inside the apartment before the cops entered with a police dog and made their way to a back room through the kitchen.
The cop holding the dog, Ricky Anderson, pushed the door open to the room and found Lewis sitting up in his bed. He fired a shot within one second of opening the door, striking Lewis.
The cops then entered the room and handcuffed him. He was pronounced dead almost an hour later.
Anderson, a 30-year veteran of the department, was placed on paid administrative leave, according to NBC4. The video was released Tuesday afternoon, only hours after the shooting.
Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant said Anderson fired after Lewis appeared to raise a hand with something in it but no gun was found.
“There was, like, a vape pen that was found on the bed right next to him,” Bryant said in a press conference Tuesday, according to NBC4.
“Donovan Lewis lost his life,” the chief continued. “As a parent, I sympathize and grieve with his mother. As a community, I grieve with our community, but we’re going to allow this investigation to take place.”
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation will investigate the shooting. Watch the shortened video below or the unedited video here.
that was a plain and simple MURDER!