COLUMBUS – A day after Columbus City Council approved a law inspired by the fatal shooting of an unarmed Black man by a white police officer, officers opened fire in South Linden, sending a man to the hospital.
It happened as the man ran from officers investigating a report of a woman being shot on Homestead Drive at approximately 1:32 p.m., Division of Police spokesman Sgt. James Guqua said.
Officers were dispatched to the 2200 block of Homestead Drive on a report that a woman had been shot at that address by a man who was inside. The man ran after officers arrived at the location and made contact with him and at some point during the interaction, Fuqua says at least one officers discharged a firearm.
The man went to a local hospital in serious condition but was later upgraded to stable condition, Fuqua said.
No officers were injured.
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is conducting the investigation into the shooting.
The shooting came a day after Columbus City Council passed “Andre’s Law,” in honor of Andre Hill, which would require police officers to turn on body-worn cameras and render first aid after a use of force incident.
It was the latest repercussion stemming from the fatal December shooting of the 47-year-old Hill by a white police officer and came on the heels of the demotion of the city’s police chief.
“As we seek justice in the death of Andre’ Hill, there are two things we know for sure. The officer on the scene did not immediately activate the City-issued body camera, and neither of the officers dispatched administered medical aid. This is something we can address now,” Democratic council president Shannon Hardin said.
The new law requires the activation of body-worn cameras during any enforcement action, requests for aid from emergency medical services upon the use of force that results in serious bodily harm, and the rendering of medical aid. It also mandates that Columbus police recruits receive CPR and basic medical training and periodic retraining.
Anyone who violates the new regulations can be subject to internal but, in cases where a person shows “a reckless disregard for the new law regarding the rendering of aid,” the officer could face charges for dereliction of duty, a second-degree misdemeanor. ,
The council also passed a city law that would provide initial funding of $250,000 for an “early warning system” to detect any emerging “problematic patterns,” in an officer’s behavior.
The new measures take effect immediately.