Ex-Columbus Officer Enters Alford Plea in 2022 Killing of Donovan Lewis

A former Columbus, Ohio police officer has entered a guilty plea in connection with the 2022 fatal shooting of a 20-year-old Black man, nearly four years after the incident.

Ricky Anderson, who was a K-9 officer at the time, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to reckless homicide. The plea was entered as an Alford plea, meaning Anderson acknowledges that prosecutors have sufficient evidence for a conviction but does not admit to the factual guilt of the charge.

In exchange for the plea, the Franklin County prosecuting attorney's office agreed to drop a more serious murder charge against the former officer.

The case stems from an incident in August 2022, when police responded to Donovan Lewis's apartment around 2 a.m. to arrest him on multiple warrants, including domestic violence, assault, and felony improper handling of a firearm. Anderson's legal team has indicated that trial evidence would have shown the use of deadly force was justified.

However, attorneys for Lewis's family have stated that body-worn camera footage appears to show Anderson firing within a second of opening the bedroom door where Lewis was sleeping. The family is pursuing a separate civil lawsuit against Anderson.

The shooting occurred during a period of heightened scrutiny for the Columbus Police Department. The U.S. Justice Department had agreed in 2021 to review the department's practices following a series of fatal police shootings of Black individuals, including the April 2021 killing of 16-year-old Ma'Khia Bryant.

Anderson's sentencing has not yet been scheduled. Defense attorney Mark Collins said the former officer could face anything from probation to a maximum of three years in prison.