BELOW SUPERNAV drop zone ⇩

Mayor: Body cam not activated in police killing of Black man

MAIN AREA TOP drop zone ⇩

ovp test

mLife Diagnostics LLC: Oral Fluid Drug Testing

Male shot by female at Shreveport apartment

Class to create biodiverse backyard

Rules for outbursts at Caddo School Board Meeting

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A police officer who shot and killed a Black man holding a cell phone in Ohio’s capital city early Tuesday did not activate his body camera beforehand, and dash cameras on the officers’ cruiser were also not activated, city officials said.

Because of an automatic “look back” feature on the body camera, the shooting was captured on video but without audio, said Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther and the city’s department of public safety. As a result, there’s no way to hear what the 47-year-old man or the officer said during the interaction, Ginther said.

Neither the man nor the officer has been publicly identified.

Body camera footage from immediately after the shooting indicated “a delay in rendering of first-aid to the man,” the public safety department said in a news release.

“It is unacceptable to me and the community that officers did not turn on their cameras,” Ginther said during a news conference. Columbus Police Chief Thomas Quinlan echoed the sentiment in a statement a few minutes later.

“The Division invested millions of dollars in these cameras for the express purpose of creating a video and audio record of these kinds of encounters,” Quinlan said. “They provide transparency and accountability, and protect the public, as well as officers, when the facts are in question.”

Officers activated their body cameras immediately after the shooting, Quinlan said.

Police aren’t releasing the victim’s name until his family is notified and until they have a chance to view the video of the shooting, Ginther said. The body cam video is expected to be released to the public in the next 24 hours, NewsNation affiliate WCMH reports.

Police said officers were responding to a neighbor’s non-emergency call at 1:37 a.m. about a man sitting in a vehicle for a long time, repeatedly turning the vehicle on and off. Because it was a non-emergency call, the cruiser dash cam wasn’t activated.

On arrival, officers arrived to find a garage door open and a man inside.

In the body camera video, “the man walked toward the officer with a cell phone in his left hand,” police said. “His right hand was not visible.”

One officer fired and hit the man, who died just under an hour later at a local hospital. There was no weapon recovered at the scene, police said.

The man was visiting someone at the home at the time, police said.

The officer was removed from duty and his gun and badge surrendered. A message was left with the union representing Columbus officers.

The state’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation is leading the investigation, as is city policy for shootings involving Columbus police. Ginther said he’s also asked the U.S. Attorney for Columbus to review the case for violations of the victim’s federal civil rights.

U.S. Attorney David DeVillers is also investigating the Dec. 4 shooting of Casey Goodson Jr. by a Franklin County sheriff’s deputy.

Midwest

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed

Site Settings Survey

MAIN AREA MIDDLE drop zone ⇩

Trending on NewsNation

MAIN AREA BOTTOM drop zone ⇩

tt

KC Chiefs parade shooting: 1 dead, 21 shot including 9 kids | Morning in America

Witness of Chiefs parade shooting describes suspect | Banfield

Kansas City Chiefs parade shooting: Mom of 2 dead, over 20 shot | Banfield

WWE star Ashley Massaro 'threatened' by board to keep quiet about alleged rape: Friend | Banfield

Friend of WWE star: Ashley Massaro 'spent hours' sobbing after alleged rape | Banfield

Fair

la

60°F Fair Feels like 60°
Wind
0 mph WNW
Humidity
44%
Sunrise
Sunset

Tonight

Clear skies. Low near 55F. Winds light and variable.
55°F Clear skies. Low near 55F. Winds light and variable.
Wind
4 mph NNE
Precip
1%
Sunset
Moon Phase
Waning Gibbous