Nationwide — Ricky Anderson, a former Ohio police officer who fatally shot an unarmed Black man while he was in bed, has accepted a plea deal in the 2022 shooting. He pleaded guilty to reckless homicide in connection with the death of 20-year-old Donovan Lewis. The deal allows him to avoid the more serious murder charge he originally faced. He entered an Alford plea, a legal plea in which a defendant does not admit guilt but acknowledges that prosecutors have enough evidence to secure a conviction. As part of the agreement, the state agreed to drop the murder charge. The former officer will now face sentencing for the lesser charge at a later date, according to Live Now Fox.
The shooting happened in August 2022, when Anderson worked as a K-9 officer with the Columbus Police Department. Officers went to Lewis’ apartment at around 2 a.m. to arrest him on several outstanding warrants. Those warrants included allegations involving domestic violence, assault, and felony improper handling of a firearm.
An attorney representing Lewis’ family said police body-camera footage appears to show Anderson firing his weapon less than a second after opening the bedroom door where Lewis was sleeping. Lewis was unarmed when Anderson shot him, according to the account provided by his family attorney. The family has also filed a civil lawsuit against the former officer, and that case remains pending.
The case unfolded as Columbus Police faced broader scrutiny over its treatment of Black residents and its use of force. In 2021, the U.S. Justice Department agreed to review the department’s practices following several fatal police shootings involving Black people. The review also examined the city’s response to racial injustice protests held in 2020. One of the shootings involved 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant, who was killed by a Columbus police officer in April 2021.
Anderson’s sentencing will determine whether he receives probation or prison time. His defense attorney, Mark Collins, said the possible sentence ranges from probation to as much as three years in prison. The sentencing date has not yet been announced.