By ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS Associated Press, and staff
COLUMBUS (AP) — A man fatally shot by police in Ohio’s capital city appeared to be holding a vape pen in his hand, the city police chief said as an investigation was underway into the shooting.
Donovan Lewis, 20, died at a hospital following the shooting early Tuesday morning. Columbus police say officers were at the scene to arrest Lewis on multiple warrants including domestic violence, assault and felony improper handling of a firearm.
Officers attempting to arrest Lewis on a felony charge at an apartment at 3295 Sullivant Avenue at approximately 2:28 a.m. confronted the man inside the apartment and an officer fired their weapon, Division of Police spokesman Sgt. Joe Albert said.
Officers administered rendered first aid until paramedics arrived and took the man to OhioHealth Grant Medical Center where he died, Albert said.
Police body-cam footage shows an officer opening a bedroom door in an apartment and immediately shooting Lewis, who was in bed. Lewis appeared to be holding the vape pen before he was shot, said Columbus police chief Elaine Bryant. No weapon was found.
Bryant has not addressed whether police believed the device was a weapon, a determination that will come during the probe by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
Bryant said the city was committed to holding officers responsible if there was any wrongdoing but the state investigation needed to play out first.
Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther, who hired Bryant last year, said that “regardless of the circumstances, a mother has lost her son in the city of Columbus.”
Democratic lawmakers at the Statehouse and in Congress called for transparency and additional reforms in police procedures.
“I am horrified to see another young, unarmed Black man killed by police in our city. In this painful loss, my heart goes out to his family,” Congressional Black Caucus chair Joyce Beatty of Columbus said.
“Mayor Ginther and Chief Bryant have remained transparent and acted swiftly, ordering BCI to conduct an independent investigation. As we await their findings, I stand with the Columbus community in our calls for justice and accountability,” Beatty said in a statement issued by her office.
“Enough is enough – we must take action to enact meaningful law enforcement reform, period,” Sen Sherrod Brown said. “It is law enforcement’s job to protect and serve their communities. This is not the reality Black and brown people face every day – not when young men like Donovan can be killed in their beds.”
“Following a full investigation, the Columbus Police Department must commit to changing its policies as necessary to ensure all residents feel safe in their homes and community,” state Reps. Dontavius Jarrells (D-Columbus), Adam Miller (D-Columbus) and Latyna Humphrey (D-Columbus) said in a joint statement.
The U.S. Justice Department agreed in 2021 to review Columbus police department practices after a series of fatal police shootings of Black people and the city’s response to 2020 racial injustice protests.