What is Andre's Law? Lawyers of Donovan Lewis killed by Ohio cop say police violated rule named after Andre Hill
Warning: Content may be distressing, readers discretion is advised.
COLUMBUS, OHIO: The mother of a Black man who was killed by Columbus police while he was unarmed, has opened up about how life has been without her son after his death. Donovan Lewis’ mother Rebecca Duran and family attorneys have now reacted to new details in the case, NBC4 reported. They also spoke about the new policy changes brought about by Columbus police following the 20-year-old’s death. Officer Ricky Anderson shot and killed Lewis in a Hilltop apartment on August 30, 2022.
Duran recalled how she received a “frantic call” from Lewis’ girlfriend, who warned “something bad had happened” while cops tried to serve him with an arrest warrant. “Initially, I thought they arrested him,” Duran said. “I just thought, ‘Maybe it was a simple arrest.’ I had no idea my baby would be dead.”
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Officers were reportedly serving a warrant against Lewis for domestic violence and assault and improper handling of a firearm. Columbus police opened the door to a bedroom where Lewis was lying on the bed, and Anderson, a K9 officer, fired a single, killing him. 30 seconds later, officers entered the bedroom and handcuffed Lewis, telling him to “stop resisting”.
Bodycam footage later showed that an officer called paramedics and asked other officers to render aid. One officer was seen rushing outside to retrieve a first aid kit. “Pat him down. Make sure he’s good,” an officer said before they start rendering aid to Lewis. Seconds later, he was taken outside. Officers were seen carrying Lewis down the steps by his arms and legs.
“Slow down! Slow down! Slow down! I can’t keep up! I got no grip,” the officer carrying Lewis’ upper body said. The officer eventually slipped on a step and dropped Lewis’ upper body. Taking Lewis down the steps, they laid him on the grass and started rendering first aid. Three-and-a-half minutes had passed by then, since the shooting. An officer performed chest compressions and medics arrived six minutes after the shooting, but Lewis could not be saved.
(CW: Police Shooting)
— 🥀_Imposter_🕸️ (@Imposter_Edits) August 31, 2022
This is a censored version of bodycam footage from a COLUMBUS, Ohio late night warrant where police shot and killed another unarmed man that was in his bed asleep. After the fact police claim Donovan Lewis "may have had a vape pen" whatever that means. pic.twitter.com/LtTJ86PeV8
Meanwhile, Michael Wright, one of Lewis’ family attorneys, said officers “absolutely violated Andre’s Law” as they failed to render immediate aid to Lewis and even moved his body around after he was shot. “It was almost like a choreographed scene when they were saying ‘stop resisting,’ they were doing things to protect themselves as opposed to giving him life-saving treatment that could’ve saved his life,” said Wright, who represented the family of Andre Hill, a 47-year-old Black man killed by Columbus police officer Adam Coy in 2020.
What is Andre's Law?
Columbus City Council unanimously passed "Andre's Law" after Andre Hill's death, setting new requirements for the Columbus Division of Police. The law is named after Andre Hill, 47, who was shot dead by Adam Coy and Amy Detweiler. The officers at the time were responding to an unrelated complaint on Oberlin Drive about an unknown vehicle running on and off. City documents claimed that when Hill was shot, he was unarmed, but Coy claimed Hill was holding a gun. However, no weapons were recovered at the scene, according to documents from Columbus police, and Coy was subsequently terminated. The body cameras of both officers were reportedly not turned on until after the incident.
Andre's Law requires officers to turn body cameras on in any situation and also demands that they get medical aid for any use of force case that involves injury or something worse than that. The law creates disciplinary actions for officers who do not turn on body cameras immediately after exiting their vehicles to follow up on a complaint.
“Andre’s Law aims to ensure that safety officers use their body-worn cameras properly and call for aid or deliver medical aid themselves," said Columbus City Council President Shannon Harding had said when the law was passed. The law was passed days after former Columbus Police Chief Thomas Quinlan resigned at Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther’s request.