COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Columbus Division of Police Chief Elaine Bryant said the department is reviewing its policies following the fatal shooting of an unarmed man in August.

Columbus police officer Ricky Anderson shot and killed Donovon Lewis on Aug. 30 while executing an arrest warrant. Anderson remains on paid administrative leave.

When asked about the investigation into the incident, Bryant said, “The only thing that I can really say about that is BCI is still in the middle of investigating this case.”

NBC4’s Kerry Charles spoke with Bryant, an assistant chief, and a deputy chief Wednesday, and while Bryant couldn’t say more about the investigation, she did say the division is reviewing its policies regarding how officers serve the city.

“One of the things you have to do is you have to consistently look at your policies, you have to consistently review things that are going on in your agencies to determine if you can do them better, for things that can be changed for not only the betterment of the department but also for the community as a whole,” Bryant said.

One of those changes is stopping the execution of pre-planned misdemeanor warrants, including domestic violence or non-violent felony warrants, from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. This affects cases without the prior approval of a lieutenant or above.

Officers were trying to serve an arrest warrant for Lewis on gun-related and domestic violence charges at 2:30 a.m. at Lewis’ Hilltop apartment. Officers first removed two men from the unit, then tried to get Lewis’ attention through a door. One second after the door was opened, Anderson shot an unarmed Lewis who was in his own bed. Lewis later died.

His family called for the policy change hours before an internal memo announcing it was sent to the division. This was just more than a week after the shooting.

Lewis’ case isn’t the only case being looked at within the department. In May 2021, minor league basketball player A.J. Davis lost his legs after a traffic accident in which the other driver was allegedly under the influence of drugs or alcohol. That driver has not yet been charged.

Davis was driving with his young daughter and at just before 10 p.m., he pulled over on an exit ramp from I-70 to get food and drink out of his trunk for a man who was homeless. That is when a car slammed into him. Davis fell to the ground but was able to pull himself to the front seat of his car to check on his then-5-year-old daughter. Doctors ultimately had to amputate Davis’ legs.

According to the police report, investigators believe the driver may have been under the influence of alcohol and/or marijuana, but she was not charged.

Several requests for an update made to the detective in the case have not been returned.

When asked about the case, Bryant said the commander and a sergeant within the unit handling the investigation are no longer in those positions.

“There’s some reorganization within the department and we’re doing case reviews and determinations on lots of things, and that is one of the units that we are looking at,” Bryant said. “We don’t have the answer specifically that you’re looking for right now, but this new team, we’re trying to get answers to try and make a determination on where we are with that.”

The crash took place before Bryant was named chief, saying she wasn’t even aware of the case, but promises a full review of it and the unit that handles crash investigations.

Bryant said there are other policies that could be changed in the future.

“We’ve added training for our officers, we’ve added management training,” she said. “We’ve actually had companies come out and do the training that we are on par with 21st century policing.

“One of the things we wanted to make sure is that when you get promoted, what type of training do you have to go out and be a manager and be a supervisor to make those type of decisions, so we wanted to provide them that training.”

Bryant points to her community advisory board as a resource she said helps to determine what policies need to be changed. The chief and her team said all policies are reviewed every three years.