The recent murder of Donovan Lewis continues an ongoing pattern of police brutality against Black citizens in Columbus. Less than two years after the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Minnesota and ten years after Trayvon Martin’s murder, the trend continues unabated. As if the national trajectory of murdering unarmed Black citizens is not enough, Columbus, like many cities in the nation, has its own troubling history on this issue. The murder of Lewis revives memories of the murders of Tyre King, Harry Green and Andre Hill and Casey Goodson.
The Lewis murder is particularly egregious. It has all the elements of problematic behaviors so prevalent in the news. The execution of a warrant in the dead of night. The use of body cam videos to document the arrest. The almost methodical search and immediate dispatch of the intended target. In the video cam, you can see several officers enter Lewis’s apartment with a canine. As the lead officer pushes open the door to Lewis room, it appears the subject is stunned by the lights and attempts to put his hands up. Without warning or waiting, the office fires two shots killing Lewis. It seems more like an execution than an attempt to serve a warrant.
The videotape led to stunned outrage. There is no attempt to determine what Lewis’s is doing. Rather as soon as the door was opened, he was immediately shot. Police later claimed Lewis was armed, but this was not the case. They also claimed they mistook a vape, which he supposedly had in his hand for a gun. After further review of the video cam, Lewis’ hands were empty.
The shooting has sparked outrage and attempts to change policy procedure. The Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant recently banned service for warrants after midnight. Local leaders have asked for more accountability from the police department. Several protests and rallies have occurred throughout the city to protest this shooting. The family is calling for a swift investigation. The matter has been assigned to the State Bureau of Investigation. The investigation, will no doubt, play out over the next year. Whether the investigation will reach a conclusion that is satisfactory to the community is yet to be determined.
The larger question is how do we arrest this ongoing trend of police brutality. Columbus is trying to implement several strategies to do just that.
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Previously Published on Historian Speaks
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