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Relatives Of Man Killed By Columbus Police Dispute Official Account Of The Shooting

patton family

The family of a man shot to death by a Columbus police officer is disputing the police division's version of what happened. Officer Alex Mottinger shot and killed 38-year-old Jimmie Patton late Thursday night after police say Patton pointed a gun at them. Officers were responding to reports of an intoxicated man sitting in an SUV pointing a gun at someone. Police say Patton got out of the vehicle near Parsons and Southwood Avenues and was killed after allegedly pointing a gun at Mottinger. 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.

Jim has been with WCBE since 1996. Before that he worked as a reporter at another Columbus radio station, and for three newspapers in Southwest Florida.
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