Unarmed Black man fatally shot by Columbus police officer responding to noise complaint

A Columbus police officer shot and killed an unarmed Black man while responding to a call early Tuesday, and hours later a furious Mayor Andrew J. Ginther ordered the police chief to take the officer's badge and gun.

"The community is exhausted," Ginther said.

The latest: What we know about the fatal shooting of a Black man early Tuesday by Columbus police

The officers involved in the incident did not turn on their body cameras until immediately after the shooting, but it was recorded because the camera captures 60 seconds of footage before it is turned on. It also appears there was a delay in rendering first-aid to the man, according to the city's office of public safety.

The state Bureau of Criminal Investigation is leading the case, as is now city policy for shootings involving Columbus police officers. 

Narrative of the shooting

Police spokesman Sgt. James Fuqua said officers were dispatched at 1:37 a.m. Tuesday on a non-emergency call to the 1000 block of Oberlin Drive on the city's Northwest Side for a disturbance involving an SUV running on and off for an extended time.  Fuqua said the complaint came from a neighbor.

More: 'We were outraged': Columbus activists angry over shooting of unarmed Black man

At a press conference Tuesday afternoon, Ginther and city Department of Public Safety officials revealed more details about the shooting:

When officers arrived on the scene, they found a home's garage door open and a man inside. 

The man, who was visiting someone at the home, walked toward officers with a cellphone in his left hand and his right hand not visible, according to a review by city officials of one of the responding officer’s body-worn camera footage.

One officer fired his weapon, striking the 47-year-old Black man, who later died at OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital. 

A weapon was not recovered at the scene. 

The man's name had not yet been released as of late afternoon Tuesday, pending official notification of his family. Columbus police officers involved in shootings are not identified for at least 24 hours after the shooting, per Division of Police policy. 

"The body-worn camera footage also documents a delay in rendering of first-aid to the man," according to a city Department of Public Safety release.   

The shooting happened less than three weeks after a Franklin County sheriff's deputy shot Casey Goodson Jr., a 23-year-old Black man, in the Northland area. That shooting has prompted protests and demands for justice. The investigation into that shooting is being led by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, David DeVillers.

Officer on leave; body camera footage not public yet

The officer involved is currently on administrative leave while the investigation continues. He will not return to work until he has been cleared by an independent psychologist, the release states.

More:Hundreds join two days of peaceful protests over the shooting of Casey Goodson Jr.

Ginther said Tuesday afternoon he took the additional step of asking Quinlan to relieve the officer of duty — the equivalent of suspension — based on what he said he saw on the footage. 

Quinlan has ordered the officer relieved of duty, requiring the officer to turn in his badge and gun, according to the city. This strips the officer in of all police powers pending the outcome of the criminal and internal investigation. The officer will be paid during this time, per union contract. 

"Neither officer at the scene activated their body-worn cameras until immediately after the shooting. Because of a 60-second 'look back' function of the cameras, the shooting itself was captured on video," the city release states. "However, the function does not record audio during that 60-second 'look-back' window, so there is no audio of the communications (between the victim and the officers) immediately preceding or during the actual shooting."

Ginther said the fact that neither responding officer turned on their body camera until after the shooting took place "disturbed him greatly." 

"It is unacceptable to me and the community that officers did not turn on their cameras," he said, citing the $5 million investment the city made in purchasing the cameras. "If you won't turn on your body camera, you cannot work in our city." 

The body camera footage that does exist is expected to be released publicly sometime Wednesday.

Ginther said state Attorney General Dave Yost has asked him to delay the release of the body camera footage until his Bureau of Criminal Investigation agents can interview one of the officers who was at the scene. That interview is scheduled to take place Wednesday.

Sometime after that, the family of the man who was shot will view it and then it will be released to the public, Ginther said during the press conference.

Because the initial call was not an emergency, police did not have lights and sirens on when they responded to the scene and the dash camera in the police cruiser "was not activated for any part of this run," the release states. 

Response to the shooting

Keith Ferrell, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Capital City Lodge No. 9, which represents Columbus police officers, declined comment on the shooting.

Columbus police Chief Thomas Quinlan, who did not attend the press conference, said in the statement, “This is a tragedy on many levels. Most importantly a life has been lost. That must be our focus going forward."

Quinlan said in the statement that he is "troubled by the preliminary facts" about the shooting. 

“The Division invested millions of dollars in these cameras for the express purpose of creating a video and audio record of these kinds of encounters," Quinlan said in the release. "They provide transparency and accountability, and protect the public, as well as officers, when the facts are in question.”

Ginther said he has asked DeVillers to review the case to determine if the man's civil rights were violated. 

Any further investigative evidence or information is in the hands of BCI. Under a memorandum of understanding reached this summer, BCI will conduct an outside, independent investigation of all officer-involved shootings involving deadly force by Columbus police officers.

More:'This has to stop': Faith leaders angry over Casey Goodson shooting, hot potato handling

And in the wake of Goodson's shooting, any other shooting involving a law-enforcement officer within the city will also be investigated by BCI.  

"We know that BCI will conduct a thorough, independent investigation. We promise that we will provide as much transparency as possible on our part, both with investigators and the public," Quinlan said in the statement. "Our community deserves the facts. If evidence determines that laws or policies were violated, officers will be held accountable.”

A handful of protesters appeared at the press conference, demanding answers and at times shouting over the media during the question-and-answer part of the event. 

bbruner@dispatch.com

@bethany_brunert