By Beth Burger
The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio
COLUMBUS, Ohio — A Franklin County grand jury recently chose not to return an indictment of two Columbus police officers who shot and killed a man in July after he reached for a gun in his waistband.
Officers Samuel James and Marc Johnson shot and killed 30-year-old Kareem Ali Nadir Jones on July 7, 2017, in Franklinton.
James and Johnson saw a gun in Jones’ waistband after talking to him earlier on Schultz Avenue. James knew Jones was not legally allowed to carry a gun. Body-cam video shows when the officers confronted Jones later in a backyard, he initially holding his arms out while walking backwards from the officers, who had their guns drawn.
Jones refused instructions to lie on the ground, according to the officers. He turned from them and started to move away. The officers said, and the video appears to confirm, Jones was reaching for Glock 9mm gun tucked in his waistband. When Jones reached the gun, he was shot.
An internal Columbus Division of Police firearm review board still has to review the shooting to determine whether officers acted within policy.
Jones’ family has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit in federal court against the city and both officers. The lawsuit, which was filed in July, sought money and an injunction against “the use of excessive and unreasonable force and the extrajudicial shooting of civilians, particularly African-Americans.”
©2018 The Columbus Dispatch (Columbus, Ohio)