Donovan Lewis' family sues Columbus police, city for 'culture of excessive force'

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – The family of a Black man killed by a Columbus police officer while in bed is suing the city and police department for creating a “culture of excessive force,” particularly against residents of color.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in federal court, comes from the family of Donovan Lewis. Former Columbus Police Officer Ricky Anderson fatally shot 20-year-old Lewis, who was in bed in his Hilltop apartment, in August 2022 while attempting to serve an arrest warrant. 

Lewis’ death is emblematic of systemic issues within Columbus police, Cooper Elliott and Wright & Schulte, the firms representing Lewis’ family, said in a release. The firms said excessive force has been a problem within Columbus police for decades – citing a 1998 federal investigation into false arrests, improper use of force and discrimination – and Black residents disproportionately bear the brunt.

In 2002, the city and Department of Justice settled the case as the police force pledged to make reforms. The Lewis family and their attorneys said the police department hasn't followed through, citing statistics from a city-commissioned review finding major disparities in use of force against Black residents compared to white residents.

"Donovan’s family supports effective and balanced law enforcement. What we don’t support is law enforcement that disproportionately impacts minority residents," attorney Rex Elliott said at a news conference Thursday morning. "Law enforcement in the city of Columbus needs to target crime, not color."

The complaint singles out the Zone 3 Enforcement Team, a group of officers that, since 2022, has overseen "proactive policing" operations on the west side of Columbus, according to the lawsuit. It was the Zone 3 Enforcement Team that attempted to serve Lewis the overnight arrest warrant the day he was killed.

"The City, Chief, and Columbus Police knew before the police killing of Donovan Lewis that Columbus Police officers faced little or no disincentive from engaging in excessive use of force and regularly failed to comply with the letter or spirit of training and policies on use of force," the lawsuit reads.

Columbus police and the mayor's office declined to comment.

The complaint outlines several reforms for Columbus police, including calling for a full Department of Justice investigation into use of force, the publication of all stop and arrest data, and creation of a timeline for the city to update the public on officer-involved shooting investigations, and asks the court to order the department to address the “culture of excessive force and racial animus."

Lewis’ family is already suing Anderson and several other officers who attempted to serve an arrest warrant at the Sullivant Avenue apartment in the early hours of Aug. 30, 2022. Lewis was facing misdemeanor charges of improperly handling a firearm, assault and domestic violence.

Anderson, who was a K-9 handler, shot Lewis in the abdomen within a second of opening the bedroom door. Lewis was unarmed. 

Body camera footage showed that officers waited a minute before calling for paramedics and approaching Lewis. Officers then carried Lewis down the apartment stairs, at one point dropping Lewis’ upper body, before laying him on the grass outside and rendering aid nearly four minutes after he was shot. His family has argued the officers violated Andre’s Law by not immediately rendering aid and by moving Lewis’ body when he was critically injured. 

The wrongful death lawsuit remains pending in Franklin County court and is scheduled to go to trial in September. 

Anderson retired from Columbus police in bad standing last March. Five months later, a grand jury indicted 61-year-old Anderson on charges of murder and reckless homicide for Lewis’ death. He has pleaded not guilty, and his attorneys have asked for a change of venue due to “voluminous and prejudicial media coverage” and other pretrial publicity. His next court appearance is scheduled for April 22.

Following Lewis' death, Columbus police changed its policy to forbid the execution of pre-planned arrest warrants for misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies at residences between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. Officers were at Lewis' apartment to serve the arrest warrant after 2 a.m.

Anderson is one of several former law enforcement officers facing murder charges for killing Black Columbus residents while in the line of duty. 

On Monday, a trial date was set for the second murder trial of Jason Meade, a former Franklin County Sheriff’s deputy who killed Casey Goodson Jr. in the doorway of his grandmother’s house in 2020. Meade retired from the sheriff's office in 2021. A hung jury forced a mistrial in February.

Adam Coy, a former Columbus police officer who killed Andre’ Hill in 2020, is set to go to trial in October after it was delayed multiple times due to his cancer diagnosis and treatment. Coy shot Hill after seeing him in an open garage while responding to a non-emergency call in the area.

Coy was fired from Columbus police a week after he killed Hill, with city officials citing his failure to render aid and turn on his body camera as justification. The city enacted Andre’s Law in 2021, requiring Columbus police officers to turn on their body cameras when responding to incidents and to immediately render aid and request emergency medical services when they seriously injure a person.

Read the complaint below.