Photo screenshot: WBNS 10TV YOUTUBE/Former Columbus police officer Ricky Anderson pleads guilty in fatal shooting of Donovan Lewis
Former Columbus police officer Ricky Anderson pleaded guilty Thursday to reckless homicide in the 2022 shooting death of Donovan Lewis. Lewis was a 20 year old Black man who was in bed when officers came to arrest him. Anderson had faced murder and reckless homicide charges. He entered what courts call an Alford plea. That plea meant he acknowledged prosecutors had enough evidence to convict him without admitting guilt himself. In turn, prosecutors agreed to drop the murder charge as part of the deal.
Ricky Anderson enters an Alford plea in the killing of Lewis
Anderson served as a K9 officer with the Columbus Police Department at the time of the shooting. A grand jury indicted him in 2023. His case then moved slowly through Franklin County courts before Thursday’s hearing. Mark Collins, Anderson’s attorney, said he could receive anything from probation to three years in prison. A judge will set his sentencing date at a later time.
Body camera footage captured the moment officers opened Lewis’ bedroom door
Officers went to Lewis’ Hilltop apartment around 2 a.m. on August 30, 2022. They arrived to serve warrants against him for domestic violence, assault and improper handling of a firearm. After officers detained two other residents, a police K9 approached Lewis’ bedroom door and began barking. Anderson then opened the door and fired a single shot within about a second. The bullet struck Lewis as he lay in bed. Police later said Lewis had been holding a vape pen, though it does not appear in the recording. Anderson’s attorneys have maintained that trial evidence would have justified the shooting.
Lewis’ family says the plea falls short of justice
For Lewis’ family, the plea brought a measure of accountability but not the outcome they wanted. His mother, Rebecca Duran, said she understood people would call the guilty plea a win. Still, she said it did not feel that way to her. She said it fell far short of what she believes should have happened and what her son deserved.
The family’s attorney, Rex Elliott, echoed that sentiment. He said the plea marks the first time an officer has admitted to recklessly killing a young man. Even so, he added that nothing that happens to Anderson now will bring Lewis back. He asked whether the outcome truly amounts to justice. Anderson will move on with his life, he said, while Lewis’ family carries the loss permanently.
Sentencing looms as Columbus continues to face scrutiny over police shootings
Courts have not yet set Anderson’s sentencing date. The case is one of several fatal police shootings of Black residents in Columbus. Those shootings, along with the city’s response to 2020 protests over racial injustice, drew federal attention. In 2021, the U.S. Justice Department agreed to review the Columbus Police Department’s practices. That review also followed the 2021 killing of 16 year old Ma’Khia Bryant. Lewis’ family also has a pending civil lawsuit against Anderson.
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