(MEMPHIS, Tenn.) — Five former Memphis police officers accused of murder in connection to the traffic stop beating of Tyre Nichols are due in court for a bond arraignment Friday morning.
The five officers — Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr., Emmitt Martin III and Justin Smith — were fired and arrested on charges including second-degree murder following Nichols’ beating during a Jan. 7 traffic stop.
Nichols, 29, was hospitalized and died three days later.
Graphic footage of the traffic stop was released to the public last month and sparked nationwide outrage.
A sixth officer was fired and a seventh has been relieved of duty in the wake of Nichols’ death. More officers could receive administrative discipline and the district attorney said additional charges could be filed.
At Nichols’ funeral, family attorney Ben Crump said that Nichols’ legacy “will be one of equal justice.”
“It will be the blueprint going forward, because we have to remember that in less than 20 days … they were terminated, they were arrested and they were charged,” he said of the officers.
Nichols’ family is now urging Congress to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which would mandate accountability for police misconduct, address racial profiling and limit use of force for police officers.
(SHREVEPORT, La.) — A Louisiana police officer was charged Thursday in connection with the shooting death of an unarmed man earlier this month, police said.
Shreveport Police Officer Alexander Tyler, 23, was arrested after a review of body camera footage and “other relevant evidence” by the Louisiana State Police Bureau of Investigations, the department said in a statement.
The officer was charged with negligent homicide and was booked into the Caddo Correctional Center, LSP said.
Tyler is accused of fatally shooting 43-year-old Alonzo Bagley, who is Black, on Feb. 3 after he and other officers responded to a domestic disturbance call at an apartment complex where Bagley lived, according to police.
The body camera footage, released by police, appears to show Bagley answering the door with a bottle of liquid in his hand and then walking toward the back of the apartment. Bagley then jumps from the second-floor apartment balcony, fleeing the officers, according to the footage.
Bagley was shot by Tyler, who was running from the other direction.
One round was discharged from Tyler’s service weapon striking Bagley in his chest during the chase, according to the footage. Tyler and the other unnamed officer began rendering first aid shortly after, the footage shows.
Bagley told officers, “Oh god, you shot me,” while slumping onto the ground. He was later pronounced dead at a local hospital.
According to the state police department, “the entire incident took place in approximately 1 minute and 8 seconds.”
Bagley’s family have filed a $10 million lawsuit against Tyler.
The family is currently being represented by Ronald Haley, who also represented the family of Ronald Greene, a Louisiana man who died in 2019 in state police custody. Five Louisiana state police officers have been charged in Greene’s death and are expected to be arraigned in April. State Trooper Kory York’s attorney has previously told ABC News he would plead not guilty.
“Flight does not mean shoot to kill,” Haley said during a press conference Thursday. “Flight does not mean you are the judge, jury and executioner, and that’s what happened. That was what happened in this case…and it is an incident that we see far too often in the state. It’s an incident that we see far too often around this country.”
Tyler’s attorney did not immediately reply to ABC News’ request for comment.
The domestic disturbance call came from Bagley’s wife, and she told the 911 operator that Bagley was “loaded on something” and threatened her and her daughter, according to the audio released by police.
The Shreveport Police Department says their investigation into Bagley’s death is “still active and ongoing.”
Tyler is on paid administrative leave from the police department.
(LOS ANGELES) — Police are investigating after two Jewish men were reportedly shot after leaving religious services in Los Angeles within 24 hours.
The Los Angeles Police Department said in a statement Thursday night that it believes the suspect, who is now in custody, “is responsible for the two shootings in West Los Angeles” on Wednesday and Thursday.
“The facts of the case led to this crime being investigated as a hate crime,” the LAPD said, also adding: “In an abundance of caution, there will continue to be an increased police presence and patrols around Jewish places of worship and surrounding neighborhoods through the weekend.”
According to law enforcement sources, the suspect allegedly has a history of animus toward the Jewish community.
In a statement, the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles said, in part: “We have also learned that the suspect has a history of animus towards the Jewish community and these incidents will be treated as hate crimes. As such, we are encouraged to also have learned that the U.S. Attorney will take the case and file federal charges on civil rights violations.”
The first shooting occurred shortly before 10 a.m. local time on Wednesday, when a man in his 40s was shot while getting into his vehicle, police said. The suspect fired at the victim while driving by, striking him, then took off, police said.
The second shooting occurred Thursday around 8:30 a.m. a couple of blocks from the first incident, when a suspect fired upon a victim at an intersection from a vehicle, police said.
Police described the suspected shooter as an Asian man with a mustache and goatee driving a possible white compact vehicle.
The victims are in stable condition, police said.
Both incidents occurred in LA’s Pico-Robertson area, which is home to many synagogues and religious centers. The victims were leaving houses of worship, according to Jeffery Abrams, regional director for Anti-Defamation League Los Angeles.
The LAPD said it is re-allocating resources “to provide a highly visible and preventative presence in the area.”
“The Los Angeles Police Department is aware of the concern these crimes have raised in the surrounding community,” the LAPD said in a statement Thursday evening. “We have been in close contact with religious leaders as well as individual and organizational community stakeholders.”
The FBI is assisting the LAPD in the case to determine if it was a hate crime.
LA Mayor Karen Bass said her office is monitoring the incidents.
“These attacks against members of our Jewish community are unacceptable,” she said on Twitter.
LA City Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky, who represents the district where both shootings occurred, said that the LAPD will provide “heightened deployment around all Jewish institutions citywide” in the wake of the attacks.
“These two shootings are deeply concerning,” Yaroslavsky said on Twitter. “We have seen a rise in antisemitic attacks in recent months, and while there remain questions on the motivation of these particular shootings, we cannot ignore the pain and trauma that they have triggered in the community.”
Lili Bosse, the mayor of nearby Beverly Hills, also confirmed that police were “placing extra security around our houses of worship in our city.”
The victims were Orthodox Jews leaving their synagogues following morning prayers, according to Agudath Israel of America, an organization representing Haredi Orthodox Jews.
“While we do not yet know who the shooter(s) are, if the cases are related, or what the motivations may have been, Agudath Israel feels that these incidents should be investigated as hate crimes until we know otherwise,” the organization said in a statement earlier Thursday, before police said they believe the cases may be linked. “In the meantime we ask all Los Angeles institutions to be especially vigilant in the days ahead.”
The investigation into both shootings is ongoing, and detectives are looking for surveillance footage and other evidence, police said.
“The Department’s specialized Major Crimes Division has assumed responsibility and is currently interviewing witnesses and pursuing all leads,” LAPD said.
Abrams said the LAPD is working with the Anti-Defamation League amid the investigation into the incidents.
(RALEIGH, N.C.) — The family of Darryl Tyree Williams calls for manslaughter charges against the six Raleigh police officers involved in the fatal encounter. Williams died after being shocked several times by a Taser used by North Carolina officers on January 17th.
William’s mother, Sonya Williams, called for accountability, “I am the mother of Darryl Tyree Williams. That was my first-born. That was my only son.”
“He shouldn’t be dead and I want justice,” she said.
On Thursday, Williams family attorney Ben Crump held a joint press conference with Dawn Blagrove, executive director of emancipate NC, an organization focused on individuals affected by structural racism, demanding that the Raleigh officers be fired and charged immediately.
CCTV video obtained by police in their investigation appears to show that the encounter began as an officer conducted a “proactive patrol” in an area authorities said is notorious for drug use. Authorities say, when searching Williams, the officer found a folded dollar bill in his pocket which authorities say contained a powdery substance. He then asked Williams to exit his car. Seconds later, the officer arrested him without giving Williams a reason for either order.
A spokesman for the Raleigh Police Department declined to comment when asked by ABC News whether the officer violated departmental policy in his interactions with Williams when asking him to step out of the car and the subsequent arrest.
According to Raleigh police, upon approaching Williams’ car and opening the passenger side door, where a companion of Williams was sitting, the officer saw marijuana and an open container of alcohol. But, in the footage, the officer did not mention the drugs when asking Williams and the passenger to exit the vehicle.
The officer tried to arrest Williams for what police later said was for possession of a controlled substance, but Willams attempted to flee. Despite telling the officers he had been dealing with heart problems, the video shows Williams was shocked several times with a Taser.
After Williams was placed in handcuffs, officers called to dispatch for EMS. Noticing that Williams was unresponsive, they attempted to resuscitate him before EMS arrived. About an hour later, Williams was pronounced dead at the hospital, according to a report by Police Chief Estella Patterson released days later.
An autopsy report and a toxicology report are pending according to investigators.
Blagrove chastised Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman, for what she called her lack of urgency in this matter. Instead, Blagrove is asking that the case be handed to an independent prosecutor.
“If you cannot do the job, get out of the way and let someone else do it,” she said.
AG Freeman has deferred to North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation’s ongoing probe for further comment on the case.
Williams’ death came only seven days after the death of Tyre Nichols, who died after a beating by five Memphis police officers who have since been fired and charged with second-degree murder.
The police officers involved in the Williams arrest are currently on administrative leave. The Raleigh Police Protective Association is representing CD Robinson and BL Ramge, two of the six officers placed on administrative leave. The other officers have declined to comment.
“We are here today because of systemic and institutional racism that runs rampant through the city of Raleigh. Now is the moment for us to stand together and to fight back against that institutional racism,” said Blagrove.
Co-counsel and attorney Kenneth Abbarno said, “The video gives us a wonderful opportunity to deal in the land of unrefuted fact. Nobody can accuse this legal team of making up any facts.”
The Williams family and their lawyers are confident that the security footage will speak for itself. They are asking for “swift” action in charging the officers involved.
“Thank god for video,” Crump said. “It was the private owner surveillance video here in Raleigh that captured every act, every step, every deed of those police officers.”
(BRANDON, Miss.) — The shooting of a Black man in Mississippi during a drug raid is the subject of a federal civil rights investigation, the U.S. Department of Justice announced.
The Justice Department was joined by the FBI and federal prosecutors in making the announcement Wednesday.
“The FBI Jackson Field Office, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi have opened a federal civil rights investigation into a color of law incident involving the Rankin County Sheriff’s Office,” the FBI Jackson statement read. “The FBI will conduct the investigation in a fair, thorough, and impartial manner. As this is an ongoing investigation, we are not able to comment further at this time.”
The incident at the center of the probe involved a late-night drug raid in Rankin County on Jan. 24. During the raid, 32-year-old Michael Corey Jenkins suffered a bullet wound to the face.
The police involved in the incident say the shot occurred after someone pointed a gun at the officers. Malik Shabazz, an attorney for Jenkins, says the shooting was a racially motivated attack and plans to file a civil rights complaint with the county.
“A major lawsuit is coming,” Shabazz told ABC News. “Our main objective right now is that the officers must be criminally charged.”
The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation also will be conducting an investigation.
MBI spokesperson Bailey Martin did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
“The local authorities, MBI and others, are finally seeming like they’re going to take the illegal actions of Rankin County deputies seriously. They have continuously done this over the years.”
Shabazz filed a notice of claim Thursday morning, as required by the state of Mississippi, and in 90 days plans to file a civil lawsuit.
Jenkins claimed six deputies entered his residence.
Eddie Terrell Parker also was in the residence and claimed officers did not have a search warrant and all officers abused the two men while handcuffed.
Shabazz also represents Parker.
“These officers used and violated the laws of excessive force, illegal search and seizure, inadequate training and supervision against Rankin County. They don’t supervise and monitor anything,” Shabazz said during Wednesday’s press conference in Jackson, Mississippi.
Jenkins was released Tuesday from the University of Mississippi Medical Center after undergoing two surgeries to treat mouth and head injuries, including the surgical removal of his tongue, according to Shabazz, who added Jenkins currently has trouble speaking.
For a period of 90 minutes, the alleged abuse included being shocked with tasers and waterboarded with various liquids around the house, including milk, while handcuffed. This abuse was before a gun was placed inside Jenkins’ mouth and then fired, according to Shabazz.
“They sat there and pelted the men with eggs when they were on their knees handcuffed,” Shabazz told ABC News.
Parker, 35, described the night as something he never thought he would go through.
“I mean, we were beaten. We were handcuffed,” Parker said during the conference. “It was traumatizing, man. It was a night of hell.”
The Rankin County Sheriff’s Department released a statement following the DOJ’s announcement: “Multiple suspects were taken into custody, and we contacted the Mississippi Bureau of Investigations to investigate the actions of our deputies. We are fully cooperating with that ongoing investigation and will continue to do so. Rest assured, if any deputy or suspect involved in this incident is found to have broken the law, he will be held accountable in accordance with the law.”
The department told ABC News that they did not wish to provide any further comment.
According to the attorney, Jenkins has been charged with aggravated assault and the possession of 2 grams of a controlled substance. Parker has been charged with obstruction of justice.
Both Jenkins and Parker deny the substance found in the residence belonged to them.
Shabazz told ABC News that these charges are on “no basis.”
(LOS ANGELES) — Police are investigating after two Jewish men were reportedly shot after leaving religious services in Los Angeles within 24 hours.
The Los Angeles Police Department told ABC News they have no indication of a hate crime at this time. Initially police did not believe the West Los Angeles shootings to be related, though now say they believe they may involve the same suspect.
The first shooting occurred shortly before 10 a.m. local time on Wednesday, when a man in his 40s was shot while getting into his vehicle, police said. The suspect fired at the victim while driving by, striking him, then took off, police said.
The second shooting occurred Thursday around 8:30 a.m. a couple of blocks from the first incident, when a suspect fired upon a victim at an intersection from a vehicle, police said.
Police described the suspected shooter as an Asian man with a mustache and goatee driving a possible white compact vehicle.
The victims are in stable condition, police said.
Both incidents occurred in LA’s Pico-Robertson area, which is home to many synagogues and religious centers. The victims were leaving houses of worship, according to Jeffery Abrams, regional director for Anti-Defamation League Los Angeles.
The LAPD said it is re-allocating resources “to provide a highly visible and preventative presence in the area.”
“The Los Angeles Police Department is aware of the concern these crimes have raised in the surrounding community,” the LAPD said in a statement Thursday evening. “We have been in close contact with religious leaders as well as individual and organizational community stakeholders.”
LA Mayor Karen Bass said her office is monitoring the incidents.
“These attacks against members of our Jewish community are unacceptable,” she said on Twitter.
LA City Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky, who represents the district where both shootings occurred, said that the LAPD will provide “heightened deployment around all Jewish institutions citywide” in the wake of the attacks.
“These two shootings are deeply concerning,” Yaroslavsky said on Twitter. “We have seen a rise in antisemitic attacks in recent months, and while there remain questions on the motivation of these particular shootings, we cannot ignore the pain and trauma that they have triggered in the community.”
Lili Bosse, the mayor of nearby Beverly Hills, also confirmed that police were “placing extra security around our houses of worship in our city.”
The victims were Orthodox Jews leaving their synagogues following morning prayers, according to Agudath Israel of America, an organization representing Haredi Orthodox Jews.
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“While we do not yet know who the shooter(s) are, if the cases are related, or what the motivations may have been, Agudath Israel feels that these incidents should be investigated as hate crimes until we know otherwise,” the organization said in a statement earlier Thursday, before police said they believe the cases may be linked. “In the meantime we ask all Los Angeles institutions to be especially vigilant in the days ahead.”
The investigation into both shootings is ongoing, and detectives are looking for surveillance footage and other evidence, police said.
“The Department’s specialized Major Crimes Division has assumed responsibility and is currently interviewing witnesses and pursuing all leads,” LAPD said.
Abrams said the LAPD is working with the Anti-Defamation League amid the investigation into the incidents.
Airman 1st Class Andrew Britten/North American Aerospace Defense Command
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden spoke to the nation on Thursday about the recent shoot-downs of flying objects in U.S. and Canadian airspace.
He addressed how the military responded in the immediate aftermath of discovering a suspected Chinese sky balloon flying toward and then across the U.S. That vessel was subsequently taken down off the coast of South Carolina, on Feb. 4. The other objects were each shot down days later.
“Our military, through the North American Aerospace Defense Command, so-called NORAD, closely scrutinized our airspace including enhancing our radar to pick up more slow-moving objects above our country, around the world,” Biden said Thursday.
The strategy of monitoring U.S. airspace — from before the recent saga of high-altitude objects — includes a combination of military and other government systems watching the skies above.
NORAD: Tracking threats and Santa
NORAD uses a self-described “network of satellites, ground-based radar, airborne radar and fighters” to monitor and protect Canadian and U.S. airspace. That network is under scrutiny after the initial high-altitude balloon flew over North America beginning on Jan. 28. One piece of that technology is the same tool used to track Santa every year.
On Dec. 25, 2022, the official NORAD Tracks Santa Facebook page posted an update, saying the “E-3 Sentry has detected Santa flying south from Alaska.”
While Saint Nick may be mythological, the rest of the year the E-3 Sentry actually serves as an “airborne warning and control system,” according to the U.S. Air Force.
It’s a modified version of the Boeing 707/320 airplane with a 30-foot wide radar attached to it. According to the Air Force, the E-3 “can detect, identify and track airborne enemy forces far from the boundaries of the United States or NATO countries.”
The FAA’s approach
The Federal Aviation Administration monitors U.S. airspace to help pilots safely navigate the skies. The FAA’s National Airspace System encompasses “controlled and uncontrolled airspace, both domestic and oceanic” as well as information used to make air travel safe, according to the agency.
The NAS, according to its website, also involves air navigation facilities, equipment, navigation information, aeronautical information and rules and regulations, among other things.
According to the FAA, the organization is moving away from the familiar radar technology and toward an Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B), which uses satellites to show both controllers and pilots other aircraft, hazardous weather and any necessary flight information.
Third-party information
There are also third-party websites that give the public an interactive way to see available data.
Sites like the SondeHub Tracker use a network of hundreds of receivers across the world to track radiosondes, which are the small devices attached to high-altitude balloons that take measurements and transmit back to the ground.
There are limitations to online trackers because they don’t have all available data points.
However, with the available information, users can see real-time updates — including location, altitude and any recorded measurements. Sites like SondeHub also give people the ability to find radiosondes once they return to earth.
(BUFFALO, N.Y.) — As she stared down the teenager who murdered her sister and nine other Black people in the racially motivated Buffalo mass shooting, Barbara Massey Mapps said her blood was boiling to the point she wanted to reach out and wring his neck.
As Mapps gave a blistering victim impact statement in Erie County Court Wednesday, she said her anger grew as she interpreted the look on killer Payton Gendron’s face as someone “who doesn’t care.” But it was her 46-year-old son, Damore Mapps, the oldest of her late sister Katherine “Kat” Massey’s nephews, who made an attempt in court to physically assault Gendron.
As his mother was speaking and pounding her hand on the prosecution’s table to seize Gendron’s attention, Damore Mapps, who was standing next to her, suddenly charged towards Gendron and lunged at the 19-year-old, wildly swinging his fists as courtroom guards restrained him and hustled the handcuffed defendant out of the courtroom.
“He wouldn’t have went up there if it weren’t for me. He saw me emotional and I’m his mom. ‘Mom’s hurt, I’m gonna protect my mother,'” Barbara Massey Mapps said of her son at a post-sentencing news conference. “This is the way we were brought up. You hurt one of us, you hurt us all.”
The courtroom outburst briefly halted the hearing and cut short Mapps’ statement, moments after she told Gendron “you don’t know a damn thing about Black people. We’re human.”
She said her son was extremely close to her 72-year-old sister and that his still “raw” emotions emerged in the courtroom.
“He’s the one who called Kat ‘Triple Black’ … because she was so proud of her heritage,” said Mapps, who referenced the nickname in her statement.
No charges were filed against Damore Mapps, who was not allowed back in the courtroom when the sentencing hearing resumed.
Barbara Massey Mapps, 65, said that as she spoke directly to Gendron, anger and satisfaction coursed through her body. While telling Gendron, “I would hurt you so bad,” if he weren’t surrounded by guards, she said it felt good to finally unburden her pent-up rage.
“I wanted to choke him until my fingerprints left a mark around his neck. That’s what I wanted from the bottom of my heart,” she said. “I have not felt this good since 5/14, since I could speak to him.”
During the hearing, Gendron apologized to the families of the 10 people he killed and the three he wounded in the May 14, 2022, racially motivated mass shooting at a Tops supermarket on Buffalo’s east side.
But Mapps said she felt Gendron’s mea culpa did not strike her as sincere. She said she suspects he only gave a statement in an attempt to avoid the death penalty, which he still faces in the pending federal case against him.
“I feel that he could care less about what he did,” Mapps said.
Gendron pleaded guilty in November to 15 state charges, including murder and attempted murder. He is the first person in state history to be charged with domestic terrorism motivated by hate.
Judge Susan Eagan imposed mandatory sentences of life in prison without the possibility of parole for each of the 10 victims Gendron killed and 25 years for each of the three victims he shot and wounded. Eagan told Gendron there would be “no mercy for you, no understanding, no second chances.”
In addition to the state case, Gendron is facing hate and domestic terrorism charges in federal court. His attorneys said he might consider pleading guilty if federal prosecutors agree not to pursue the death penalty.
While several family members who spoke in state court on Wednesday said they would rather see Gendron rot in prison, Mapps said, “I want to have the death penalty.”
“A lot of my family now wants him to be in jail for 200 to 300 years. I think that’s a waste of money,” Mapps said. “If anybody deserves the death penalty, it’s him.”
(NEW YORK) — Fox News anchors and producers privately acknowledged that former President Donald Trump and his allies’ allegations of election fraud in the aftermath of the 2020 election were false despite their network’s promotion of those claims, according to a new court filing by Dominion Voting Systems.
In a nearly 200-page document filed as part of its billion-dollar defamation suit against the network, Dominion Voting Systems shared emails, texts, testimony, and other private communications from Fox News personnel that cast doubt on claims that Dominion’s voting machines had somehow rigged the presidential election in Joe Biden’s favor.
The voting company is suing Fox News for $1.6 billion for allegedly defaming the company in the aftermath of the 2020 election.
“Fox knew,” according to the filing, which cited excerpts of evidence gathered as part of the suit. “From the top down, Fox knew ‘the Dominion stuff’ was ‘total BS.’ Yet despite knowing the truth — or at minimum, recklessly disregarding that truth — Fox spread and endorsed these ‘outlandish voter fraud claims’ about Dominion even as it internally recognized the lies as ‘crazy,’ ‘absurd,’ and ‘shockingly reckless.”
Fox News, in a statement, said, “There will be a lot of noise and confusion generated by Dominion and their opportunistic private equity owners, but the core of this case remains about freedom of the press and freedom of speech, which are fundamental rights afforded by the Constitution and protected by New York Times v. Sullivan.
Thursday’s filing lays out the Dominion’s company’s top evidence against Fox News, which Dominion claims pushed false accusations that the voting company had rigged the 2020 election in order for the news channel to boost its rating and make a profit. The filing contains material Dominion has obtained via discovery from Fox News over the past few months, including text messages, internal emails, and depositions.
The Fox suit is one of several lawsuits launched by the Denver-based voting company after it became the center of far-reaching false conspiracy theories surrounding its involvement in the 2020 election, fueled largely by right-wing figures close to then-President Donald Trump as part of the effort to overturn the results of the election.
Among the Fox News hosts who were scheduled to be deposed in the suit were Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson and Jeannine Pirro, as well as former Fox Business host Lou Dobbs.
“The critical issue here is the state of mind of Fox and those individual people,” Floyd Abrams, one of the country’s leading experts on First Amendment law, told ABC News last summer. “What did they say about Dominion, and did they believe it?”
“In order for Dominion to win, it has to show that what was said was not just false, but that it was known or suspected to be false,” Abrams said.
In a statement issued in response to the suit, Fox News officials said, “FOX News Media is proud of our 2020 election coverage, which stands in the highest tradition of American journalism, and will vigorously defend against this baseless lawsuit in court.”
(COLUMBUS, Ohio) — The family of a 20-year-old man who was fatally shot by Columbus police is now filing a wrongful death lawsuit against the officer who shot him.
According to the complaint, Donovan Lewis, an expecting father, was unarmed and in his bed when he was shot last August after officers arrived at his home to serve a warrant for his arrest.
Officers came to his residence to arrest him on three separate charges: domestic violence, assault and improper handling of a firearm.
Body camera footage was released of the encounter last September and Columbus Police officer Ricky Anderson, a 30-year veteran of the Columbus Police Department, appears to open fire almost immediately after police open the bedroom door to where Lewis was sleeping. He later died at a hospital.
A total of five officers are listed in the official complaint that was announced Thursday, including Anderson– Chance Knox, Harry Dorsey, Jack Randall and Justin Dodrill– all involved in the 2:30 am raid of the Hilltop neighborhood apartment in Ohio.
“This senseless death was completely preventable,” the complaint read.
The family held a press conference Thursday morning where family attorney Rex Elliott and Lewis’ mother, Rebecca Duran, spoke.
According to the complaint, Anderson has had a total of 58 complaints against him over the years, including use of force complaints, and has also been reprimanded for sexual harassment while on the job.
Anderson is on paid administrative leave, according to previous reports from the Columbus Police Department, and is still employed.
Mark Collins, the attorney representing Anderson, previously called for a “thorough investigation.”
“When we analyze police-involved shootings, we must look to the totality of the circumstances, and we are expressly forbidden from using 20/20 hindsight, because unlike all of us, officers are not afforded the luxury of armchair reflection when they are faced with rapidly evolving, volatile encounters in dangerous situations,” Collins said in a statement last September.
Elliott criticized that Anderson was still on the “taxpayer’s dime” during the press conference.
“He has, for 170 days after he killed a young man, has been on the payroll. … We continue to demand that Ricky Anderson be terminated by the city immediately,” Elliott said.
It has been nearly 70 days since the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation completed its review of the case, according to Elliott, and he urged the submission of this case to the grand jury.
Sgt. David Scarpitti, public information officer for the Columbus Division of Police, told ABC News earlier this month that BCI will forward the investigation to the Franklin County Prosecutor, who will present the evidence to a grand jury when the investigation is complete.
He continued with information that the coroner’s office ruled the Aug. 30, 2022, death as a homicide.
“It’s been my worst nightmare,” Duran said about her son’s case. “It’s also been extremely frustrating with the amount of information that’s available. The fact that any governmental agency, any courts, judges, anything, has been continually pushed off and delayed and delayed. That allows more violence to occur, and they’re not taking it seriously.”
The 21-page complaint does not include the City of Columbus because the family and Elliott believe the city “needs to be sued in federal court.”
The document also includes images from the police body camera footage.
Since her son’s funeral, Duran mentioned that Mayor Andrew Ginther has not reached out to her.
“I’ve left messages. I was at a conference just this month that he was present at. He did not speak to me. He has not reached out to me,” Duran said.
During the conference, Duran suggested bans on most late-night warrants, quicker accountability in police and mental health evaluations for officers.
The lawsuit comes just two weeks after Duran renewed calls for Anderson to be terminated and criminally charged.
