Columbus, Ohio: Former Officer Ricky Anderson Gets Probation in Donovan Lewis Shooting Death

A Franklin County judge sentenced former Columbus police officer Ricky Anderson to three years of probation on Wednesday, Nov. 4, closing the case in the 2022 shooting death of Donovan Lewis, 20, who was shot in his own bed during a warrant arrest. Anderson will serve no prison time unless he violates the terms of his probation.

Anderson had faced murder and reckless homicide charges. On Sept. 3 he entered an Alford plea to reckless homicide, acknowledging that prosecutors had enough evidence to support a conviction without admitting guilt. Prosecutors dropped the murder charge as part of the plea. Reckless homicide carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison.

The hearing

At the Nov. 4 sentencing hearing, Judge Julie Lynch acknowledged the pain of the Lewis family but said the death "wasn't intentional" and "wasn't homicide." She said what the family wants is vengeance, and what the court is there for is justice.

Members of Lewis's family asked for the maximum sentence. They said Anderson had dragged out the process for years and had never truly apologized. Tariq Stewart, Lewis's brother, spoke about Lewis's son, Donovan Jr., who never met his father. "His son will never hear his laugh, hear his dad's voice," Stewart said. Lewis's mother, Rebecca Duran, said she still wakes every morning at 3 a.m., around the time her son was pronounced dead. A statement from his sister, Tatiana Crowder, said Anderson had spent years playing the system and that it felt like a wound being repeatedly cut open.

Anderson apologized in court. "I do apologize to each and every one of you," he said. "I've suffered a lot. ... We all suffered." Two family members got up and left while he spoke. His defense attorney, Mark Collins, asked the court for community control and said Anderson, who is no longer a police officer, will not be allowed to own a gun.

Bart Keyes, an attorney for the family, said the family waited more than four years for the day and that the sentence did not reflect what happened to Lewis. He noted that Anderson is still a convicted felon, which he called an extraordinarily rare outcome for a police officer who shoots and kills a young Black man. Franklin County Prosecutor Shayla Favor said her office respects the court's decision, but that a sentence with no prison time "fails to adequately reflect the gravity of this offense."

The shooting

On Aug. 30, 2022, Anderson, a K-9 officer, went with a team of officers to a West Side apartment to arrest Lewis on several outstanding warrants, some related to an alleged assault on his pregnant girlfriend. Officers knocked for several minutes, and two people in the apartment came to the door and were told Lewis needed to come outside. When he did not, Anderson and his dog searched the apartment.

Body camera video showed Anderson opening a bedroom door and firing a shot less than a second later. Lewis was sitting up in bed holding an object that was later determined to be a vape pen. Anderson told investigators he believed the vape pen was a weapon. He retired in bad standing after the shooting. The case drew public outcry and protests in Columbus. Lewis was Black, and Anderson is white.

What comes next

A civil lawsuit by Lewis's family against Anderson and the city of Columbus remains open. Keyes said the family will ask a jury in February to decide what losing Lewis has meant to them.