Ex-police officer charged with murder to appear in court

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- A former Columbus police officer charged with murder and reckless homicide will appear as a criminal defendant in front of a judge for the first time Monday.

Ricky Anderson was indicted Friday in the killing of Donovan Lewis last August. Body camera footage released by Columbus police shows Anderson firing his gun one second after opening the door to a bedroom where Lewis was seen sitting up. Officers were serving a misdemeanor arrest warrant on Lewis at the time.

Anderson is scheduled to be arraigned at 1 p.m. at the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas.

During an arraignment, defendants are informed of the charges against them and will enter a plea. The judge will also set bail in the case.

"After arraignment begins the process of what's called discovery," Cochran law firm attorney Fanon Rucker said. "Discovery is just what it means. We're trying to discover from a defense perspective everything that the state has to justify the charges and to show what they intend to present as evidence, to establish the elements of the offenses that have been charged."

Rucker is not affiliated with this case and was consulted as a legal expert.

The shooting happened on Aug. 30, 2022, with charges being formally filed by a grand jury on Friday, almost one year later. The length of time it took to file the charges has drawn criticism from both Anderson's family as well as the city's police union, the Fraternal Order of Police.

Anderson's family filed a wrongful death civil lawsuit against Anderson and four other Columbus police officers. A judge ruled in June that the lawsuit can proceed even though civil suits are usually postponed while criminal cases move through the courts. How Friday's grand jury indictment will affect the civil suit remains to be seen. Online court records currently show Anderson is set to be deposed in the civil case in early October.

Columbus police announced in March that Anderson retired in "bad standing" from the department, meaning he can no longer have his gun or his department badge.

Before Monday's court proceedings, Anderson was being held in Franklin County Jail.

About one week after Lewis’ shooting, Columbus Chief of Police Elaine Bryant issued a new policy changing when arrest warrants can be served by police, particularly barring overnight hours for misdemeanor offenses.