Antwan Lindsey was 45 years old on July 8, 2023, when a Franklin County, Ohio sheriff’s deputy gunned him down at a local apartment complex. According to ABC 6, someone notified the deputy, who was working security duty at a Walgreens drug store, that Lindsey was allegedly threatening people with a gun. It would later be revealed that the person who notified the deputy of the alleged threats was also in the apartment with an angry Lindsey, who believed that someone had stolen his vehicle. A subsequent investigation determined that the car was towed away, not stolen. The responding deputy exchanged brief gunfire with Lindsey before Columbus police responded to the scene, where an officer employed his taser to end the standoff without bloodshed.
However, the Ohio Attorney General’s Office’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation report stated that it was only after Lindsey’s body “stiffened up” and he was incapacitated that officers fired 38 total rounds at a man who had already surrendered. Don’t take our word for it; here is the text directly from the BCI report (names of the officers involved were redacted, not by us, but by BCI as reported to ABC6) :
–––– –––––– and Officer Cook repeatedly told Lindsey to put his hands up, but he did not comply. X witnessed Lindsey stick his middle finger up (“flipping the bird”) at officers and Officer Cook heard Lindsey state, “F**k you” and “F**k you ni**a, I’m not doing s**t” during the encounter. –––––– –––––– decided to deploy his Taser in an attempt to take Lindsey into custody. ––––– –––––– advised Officer Cook he would be deploying a Taser and Officer Cook acknowledged the decision. ––––– –––––––announced “Taser…Taser… Taser” and deployed his Taser which made a “popping” sound. The Taser prongs made contact with Lindsey’s left side and ––––– ––––– observed him “stiffen up.” Immediately following the Taser deployment, gunfire erupted from within the hallway of the lower level.
The entire incident was captured on body camera and released to the public. It is very graphic, and some may find it disturbing. Click HERE if you wish to view all 20 minutes of footage.
The family’s lawsuit keys in on the BCI admission that the 38 rounds were not fired until after the taser had been deployed and appeared to have been effective. That said, it should come as no surprise that a Franklin County grand jury declined to indict any of the involved officers, leaving the family to seek financial justice on their own.
10TV notes that this lawsuit, which is for $75,000, isn’t confined to just the officers who fired their guns; it specifically names the City of Columbus, Police Chief Elaine Bryant, Public Safety Director Kate McSweeney-Pishotti, Sergeant Jonathon Goodrich, the four officers who fired at Lindsey, and more than 15 other officers and staff members.
BOSSIP will continue to monitor this lawsuit as it progresses.
