COLUMBUS – Organizers plan a demonstration at Columbus City Hall Monday calling for justice for a 13-year-old boy who was fatally shot by a policeman investigating a reported armed robbery.
The lunchtime demonstration comes five days after Tyre King was shot when police say he ran from investigators pursuing potential suspects in the robbery, then pulled a realistic-looking BB gun from his waistband that looked like a real firearm and was repeatedly shot by an officer.
Meanwhile, a 19-year-old robbery suspect linked to the shooting police faces a municipal court appearance. Columbus police arrested Demetrius Braxton (right) on a robbery charge Saturday afternoon near Lane Avenue and State Route 315 in the area of the Ohio State University campus, police spokesman Sgt. Rich Weiner said.
The local police union president says Officer Bryan Mason did what he had to do in that circumstance.
The shooting has sparked a debate over the city’s safety.
Mayor Andrew Ginther said the day after the incident that Columbus is the safest big city in America, yet some residents in poor neighborhoods disagree, saying it doesn’t feel that way.
Overall, the crime rate in America’s 15th-largest city is relatively low. Its homicide rate has hovered below 100 in recent years.
But community leaders say there are deep divides between neighborhoods, and some said they don’t feel protected by the city’s police.
The pending police investigation into the shooting will be presented for a grand jury to determine whether charges are merited.
Attorneys for King’s family have called for an independent investigation.
Both the police and the attorneys for the family have publicly pleaded for anyone with information about what happened to come forward. Investigators believe those people may have information that will help piece together the events prior to the shooting, Weiner said.