Grand Jury Declines To Indict Columbus Cop For Fatal February Shooting

A Franklin County grand jury has decided not to charge a Columbus police officer who fatally shot a man who officers say pointed a gun at them last February. Officers were called to the area of Parsons and Southwood Avenues on a report of a man sitting in an SUV pointing a gun at someone. Responding officers said 38-year--old Jimmie Patton got out of the vehicle and point a gun at one of them. Officer Alex Mottinger shot Patton. Patton's son and father-in-law say they saw the shooting and Patton did not point a gun at Mottinger. They say police did not identify themselves, did not have sirens on, and did not order him to the ground or order him to drop the gun. They say Patton appeared to not know what was happening. They say he turned around and police opened fire. Police shot 174 people between 2008 and 2015, the latest year for which data is available. That is a disproportionately high figure compared with other major cities. The city has made no resulting policy changes.