Police identify man killed by officer on East Side
Columbus police have identified a man with a knife and the officer who fatally shot him during a domestic dispute at an apartment complex near Eastland.
Kyle Anthony Veyon, 26, of North Linden, was fatally shot by officer Andrew Hawkins, 39, after he repeatedly ignored verbal commands to drop the knife and an attempt to use a Taser to disable Veyon failed, according to police.
Around 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, officers were called to an apartment on the 2400 block of Kimberly Parkway East in The Flats at Kimberly for what was initially believed to be an unknown complaint. As officers were on their way to the scene, it was determined by dispatchers that there was a domestic disturbance or dispute occurring.
According to a recording of a 911 call released Thursday to The Dispatch, the caller who dialed the emergency number did not speak to dispatchers. The call, often referred to as an “open line,” was open for about two minutes before disconnecting. During the call, a wom
an can be heard saying “stop” multiple times and “Stop, it’s not funny.”
Dispatchers were able to trace the phone number and send officers to the area based on a previous domestic violence incident that occurred there in August, according to Franklin County Municipal Court records.
Body camera footage shows the police response, shooting
Three officers responded to the scene. Body camera footage shows a woman approaching police and saying, “He’s in there. He tried to kill me with a knife.
“We’re not supposed to be around each other, honestly,” the woman said. “This has happened before.”
Within seconds, Veyon came outside, holding what appears to be a switchblade-style knife, making slashing motions at his throat. One officer tells Veyon to “stay right there,” according to the body camera footage.
However, Veyon begins to try to run toward the woman, with whom he had a relationship. The officers give chase a short distance, approximately 10 steps.
One officer pulls out a Taser and attempts to discharge it as Veyon approaches officer Hawkins, again making slashing motions near his neck with the knife and yelling, “Kill me!”
The second officer appears to check the Taser and it misfires into the street. Hawkins then fires his weapon three times, the video shows.
Veyon falls to the ground, clutching his neck and yelling. Officers begin administering aid as they call for a medic.
Hawkins is heard on the video saying an expletive almost immediately after firing, and another officer tells him he “did what he had to do.”
Veyon was taken to Ohiohealth Grant Medical Center, where he later died.
Later in the video, the woman said
Veyon had hit her before, but had never acted like he had that morning with the knife.
Hawkins, an 11-year veteran of the division, is on paid leave pending the ongoing investigation into the shooting, which is being handled by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation under city policy.
Second recent fatal shooting by a Columbus police officer of a person with a knife
The incident is the second fatal shooting by a Columbus police officer of a person wielding a knife this year.
On April 20, 16-year-old Ma’khia Bryant was fatally shot by Columbus police officer Nicholas Reardon as bodycam video appeared to show her lunging with the knife at a young woman.
Police responded to a foster home on Legion Lane on the Southeast Side where Bryant and her sister had been living after a 911 call in which a person with a knife was reported to attempting to stab someone.
As soon as Reardon, the first officer to arrive at the scene, got out of his car and walked toward a group of people outside in the driveway, Bryant charged with a knife toward one woman who was pushed or fell backwards at the foot of the officer. Seconds after that, Bryant is seen on video holding the knife and preparing to swing it at a young woman holding a dog and pinned against the side of a car.
Reardon ordered everyone to “get down” and then fired multiple shots at Bryant, fatally wounding her.
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation investigated that incident and turned its report over to the Franklin County Prosecutor’s office for review.
BCI is also investigating Wednesday’s fatal shooting of Veyon as is city policy in the event of any Columbus police officer or other law enforcement officer discharging a gun or shooting someone in the city. bbruner@dispatch.com @bethany_bruner