Cop is fired for not turning on his bodycam before he shot dead an unarmed black man, 47, holding a cellphone in his friend's garage

 An Ohio cop has been fired for not turning on his body camera before he shot dead an unarmed black man, 47, who was holding a cellphone inside his friend's garage. 

The victim was gunned down by a Columbus Police officer in the early hours of Tuesday morning in the city's northwest side when two cops were responding to a non-emergency disturbance call in the area.  

Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said neither of the officers on the scene activated their bodyworn cameras until after the shooting, that they were delayed in giving the 47-year-old first aid after he was shot and that no weapon was found at the scene.  

Ginther said in a press conference Tuesday that the officer who shot him had been relieved of his duties and ordered to hand in his badge and gun pending an investigation. 

The identities of both the victim and the cop have not yet been released by authorities.

The shooting death comes less than three weeks after another black man was shot dead by a police officer in Columbus.

Casey Christopher Goodson Jr, 23, was killed on December 4 in northeast Columbus when Franklin County Sheriff's Deputy Jason Meade opened fire as the black man was reportedly returning home from a dentist's appointment carrying Subway sandwiches for his family.

The 23-year-old's death sparked protests across Ohio and renewed nationwide calls for an end to systemic racism and police brutality in the wake of a string of deaths of black people in police custody this year. 

An Ohio cop has been fired for not turning on his body camera before he shot dead an unarmed black man, 47, who was holding a cellphone inside his friend's garage. The crime scene pictured

An Ohio cop has been fired for not turning on his body camera before he shot dead an unarmed black man, 47, who was holding a cellphone inside his friend's garage. The crime scene pictured

The victim was gunned down by the Columbus Police officer in the early hours of Tuesday morning in the city's northwest side when cops were responding to a non-emergency disturbance call in the area

The victim was gunned down by the Columbus Police officer in the early hours of Tuesday morning in the city's northwest side when cops were responding to a non-emergency disturbance call in the area

Mayor FIRES cop who fatally shot black man in Columbus, Ohio
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Columbus police officers responded to a noise complaint from a neighbor in the 1000 block of Oberlin Drive in northwest Columbus at 1:37 a.m. Tuesday morning, according to a release from Columbus Police. 

The neighbor had reported a man sitting in an SUV repeatedly turning the car on and off. 

Two officers arrived on the scene to find a garage door open and a man inside, authorities said. 

The man walked toward the police officers with his cellphone in his left hand and his right hand in his pocket. 

At this point, one of the cops opened fire on the man striking him.

The 47-year-old was taken to Riverside Hospital where he died at 2:25 a.m.

It is not clear how many times the officer fired his weapon or how many bullets struck the victim.


The information available so far is based on a review of bodycam footage from one of the officers by the Columbus Department of Public Safety. 

The incident went unrecorded until after the shooting because neither of the cops activated their bodycams, only turning them on after the 47-year-old was shot. 

The cameras are fitted with a 60-second look-back function and so the shooting was captured on video.

However, the function does not capture audio, the city agency said.

This means there is no way of reviewing what audio communications - if any - took place between the cops and the victim in the events leading up to and during the shooting. 

The dashcam in the cop cruiser was also not activated at the time because the officers were responding to a non-emergency call. 

However, from the footage available, city officials said they can see the cops did not immediately administer first aid to the victim after he was struck by at least one bullet. 

Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther (above) said neither of the officers on the scene activated their bodyworn cameras until after the shooting, that they were delayed in giving the 47-year-old first aid after he was shot and that no weapon was found at the scene

Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther (above) said neither of the officers on the scene activated their bodyworn cameras until after the shooting, that they were delayed in giving the 47-year-old first aid after he was shot and that no weapon was found at the scene

Officials also said no weapon was recovered from the scene and they believe the man was visiting a friend at the home at the time. 

Mayor Ginther said Tuesday that the cop had been relieved of his duties as he branded his actions 'unacceptable'. 

'This morning we learned of the killing of another Black man at the hands of law enforcement,' tweeted the mayor.

'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.'

He added: 'The officer involved did not turn on their body-worn camera — which is unacceptable. 

'The officer involved has been relieved of duty, requiring him to turn in his badge and gun, stripping him of police powers pending the outcome of the criminal and internal investigations.' 

The city has not released the cop's identity, but a source told ABC 6 the officer is 15-year veteran of the force Adam Coy. 

The cop will be paid during the course of the investigation. 

In a press conference Tuesday, Ginther said he was 'disturbed' about the fact that the cop didn't turn on his bodycam. 

Casey Christopher Goodson Jr, 23, was killed on Friday December 4 in northeast Columbus
Franklin County Sheriff's Deputy Jason Meade opened fire on him

Casey Christopher Goodson Jr, 23, (left) was killed on Friday December 4 in northeast Columbus when Franklin County Sheriff's Deputy Jason Meade (right) shot him 

Goodson's family say he was 'murdered in cold blood' when he was returning home from the dentist's office with Subway sandwiches (above) for himself, his five-year-old brother and his grandmother

Goodson's family say he was 'murdered in cold blood' when he was returning home from the dentist's office with Subway sandwiches (above) for himself, his five-year-old brother and his grandmother 

'Earlier this morning we learned of the killing of another African-American at the hands of law enforcement, ' he said.

'Our community is exhausted,' he said, adding that while it is in the early days of the investigation, what 'disturbs me greatly' is that the officers did not turn on their bodycam.  

'The people of Columbus invested more than $5 million to outfit our officers with body-worn cameras,' he said. 

'Let me be clear: If you do not turn on your bodyworn camera you cannot serve and protect the people of Columbus.' 

He added: 'I am deeply saddened, frustrated, angry, demanding answers of what happened in our community earlier this morning.'

He said the city was contacting the victim's next of kin and giving them the chance to see the bodycam footage before making his identity and the footage public. 

The footage is expected to be released some time on Wednesday.  

Police Chief Thomas Quinlan described the fatal shooting as 'a tragedy on many levels' and promised to 'provide as much transparency as possible'. 

'Our community deserves the facts. If evidence determines that laws or policies were violated, officers will be held accountable,' he said in a statement.  

An investigation has been launched by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation. 

A protest in front of the Ohio Statehouse on December 12 over Goodson's death

A protest in front of the Ohio Statehouse on December 12 over Goodson's death 

The 47-year-old's death this week marks the second police killing of a black man in Columbus in December alone

The 47-year-old's death this week marks the second police killing of a black man in Columbus in December alone

Protesters gathered outside the Ohio statehouse Tuesday night in outrage at what marks the second police killing of a black man in Columbus in December alone.  

Casey Christopher Goodson Jr, 23, was killed on Friday December 4 in northeast Columbus when Franklin County Sheriff's Deputy Jason Meade opened fire.  

US Marshal Peter Tobin says Goodson drove down the street waving a gun and that when Meade confronted him, it resulted in the shooting.  

But Goodson's family say he was 'murdered in cold blood' when he was returning home from the dentist's office with Subway sandwiches for himself, his five-year-old brother and his grandmother.

They say he would never have waved a gun and was legally allowed to carry a gun as he had a concealed carry permit and Ohio is an open carry state.  

Again, there is no bodycam footage from the shooting of Goodson. 

Nationwide, thousands have taken to the streets demanding justice and calling for an end to police brutality and racism since May following the 'murder' of black man George Floyd by a Minneapolis cop who knelt on his neck for almost nine minutes until he passed out and died.    

Cop is fired for not turning on his bodycam before he shot dead an unarmed black man, 47, holding a cellphone in his friend's garage Cop is fired for not turning on his bodycam before he shot dead an unarmed black man, 47, holding a cellphone in his friend's garage Reviewed by CUZZ BLUE on December 24, 2020 Rating: 5

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