Police in Columbus, Ohio, have released body camera footage that shows the horrific moments leading up to one of their officers fatally shooting an unarmed Black man while he laid in bed, CNN reports.

Donovan Lewis, 20, died on Tuesday after being shot by Columbus Police Officer Ricky Anderson. According to a police statement, Anderson was a veteran assigned to the K9 unit with decades of experience. As the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation investigates the shooting, Anderson has been placed on leave.

The shooting occurred on Tuesday around 2 a.m. at an apartment building where officers were serving a felony warrant for domestic violence, assault and improper handling of a firearm. Police say Lewis was the person named in the felony warrant.

Body camera footage shows police knocking and calling out to those in the apartment several times for more than eight minutes. 

“The officers knocked on the door for several minutes … acknowledging themselves as Columbus Police officers,” Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant said, according to CNN.

A man then came to the door and was taken into police custody. He told officers that he had just been asleep, and they confiscated a knife from him. There was a second man inside the apartment who was also taken into custody.

According to Bryant, officers asked if there was anyone else in the apartment, but it couldn’t be determined, so Anderson and a K9 were called to search the place.

“Once the K9 officer arrived on the scene, additional announcements were made for anyone else inside to come out or the K9 was going to be released inside of the apartment,” Bryant said.

The body cam footage shows the K9 barking outside of the bedroom. Officers entered the apartment and warned that they are going to send a dog in. In less than a second after opening the bedroom door, the body cam footage shows Anderson immediately firing his weapon as Lewis sits up in bed.

 

 

Officers only started to help Lewis after they handcuffed him. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 3:19 a.m.

 

 

Lewis’ family’s attorney, Rex Elliot, made a statement regarding the shooting, according to WSYX.

“The bodycam footage released yesterday afternoon says it all,” he said in the statement. “In literally the blink of an eye, a Columbus police officer shot and killed Donovan Lewis, an unarmed young Black man who was alone in his bed in the middle of the night.”

“As a result of this entirely reckless behavior by a Columbus police officer, a family is left to grieve the loss of such a young soul,” he added.

Police chief Elaine Bryant further explained that it was believed Anderson fired because Lewis appeared to raise his hand while holding something.

“There was, like, a vape pen that was found on the bed right next to him,” Bryant said, The Guardian reports.

However, Bryant further showed sympathy to Lewis’ loved ones by saying, “Donovan Lewis lost his life. … As a parent, I sympathize and grieve with his mother. As a community, I grieve with our community, but we’re going to allow this investigation to take place.”

“We are committed to full transparency … and we’re committed to holding officers accountable if there was any wrongdoing,” Bryant added. “As the chief, it is my job to hold officers accountable, but it is also my job to offer them support … through the process.”

According to WSYX, this is the third police shooting in Columbus in the last eight days.