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Columbus, Ohio, police officer kills unarmed Black man weeks after Casey Goodson's death

23 December 2020
Dan Ackermann

A Columbus, Ohio, police officer was relieved of duty following the fatal shooting of a 47-year-old Black man Tuesday during which he did not activate his body camera, Mayor Andrew Ginther (D) announced.

Why it matters: The shooting of the unnamed man comes after the Dec. 4 death of Casey Goodson, Jr., a 23-year-old Black man who was shot and killed by a sheriff's deputy, which triggered protests against police brutality.

"Our community is still raw and exhausted from the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and, most recently, Casey Goodson, Jr., right here in Columbus."
Ginther statement

Details: Ginther said during a briefing the police body cameras contain a 60-second "look-back" feature, which means the shooting was captured before the officer turned on his camera following the incident. But this does not record audio.

  • "The officer involved has been relieved of duty, requiring him to turn in his badge and gun and stripping him of police powers pending the outcome of the criminal and subsequent internal investigations," Ginther said in a social media post.
  • The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is investigating the matter.
  • Neither the police officer nor the man who died have been publicly identified.

What they're saying: Police said in a statement officers were called out to a non-emergency disturbance 1:37 a.m. Tuesday about a man in an SUV that had been turned on and off multiple times. 

  • The officer opened fire when the man approached them with a phone in his left hand and his right hand in his pocket, per the statement. "A weapon was not recovered from the scene," the statement said.
  • Columbus City Council said in a statement Tuesday, "The compounding heartbreak of learning an unarmed Black man was killed last night by a Columbus police officer is beyond description.
"Thoughts and prayers cannot soothe this pain, and the members of Columbus City Council are beyond frustrated at this senseless death. Too many families in our community are mourning at a time when we should be seeking peace and hope."

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

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Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.