Body camera footage from fatal police shooting released
Body camera footage from the Saturday night fatal shooting of an Athens County rape suspect by Columbus police SWAT officers in the parking lot of a Grove City Home Depot was released Tuesday afternoon.
The footage shows how around 8:20 p.m. Saturday, the SWAT officers, who are in several unmarked vehicles, boxed in a car in which 46-year-old Bret Andrews is a passenger and from which a handgun was recovered following the shooting. Columbus police said this is an approved tactic.
The footage also shows Andrews received almost immediate medical attention and was on a stretcher being wheeled to an ambulance within two minutes of the shots being fired.
Before the shots were fired, SWAT officers are heard on the footage talking with each other after spotting Andrews standing outside the passenger side of the car in the Home Depot parking lot, located at 1680 Stringtown Road in Grove City. Andrews appeared to be holding a beer and texting on his phone, according to audio from the body camera footage.
After Andrews gets back into the vehicle, the officers box the car in on all sides and verbally order Andrews and the male driver of the vehicle to put their hands up.
Columbus police said the vehicles facing the car Andrews was in had red and blue lights activated. The officers were also wearing police equipment, including bulletproof vests, that identified themselves as police officers, according to the video.
Multiple officers are heard on the body camera footage telling Andrews to put his hands up and telling each other that the passenger, who was Andrews, was “reaching.” The body camera footage does not show a clear view of the vehicle or of Andrews prior to the shots being fired.
A noise that sounds like a gunshot is heard and then SWAT officers fire on the vehicle with handguns. It was not clear, based on the footage, what the initial noise was and if it is a gunshot, whether it came from an officer or from Andrews.
The video footage shows bullet holes in the windshield of the vehicle. The driver of the car, who is not identified in the video, was not hurt.
On Monday, Columbus police identified the officers involved as James Ashenhurst, Robert Cutshall and Matthew Liford. All three have more than 20 years of experience with the division.
The SWAT officers immediately radio for Tactical Emergency Medical Support (TEMS), an ambulance with paramedics who have special training to accompany SWAT missions, to come into the scene. The TEMS ambulance had already been in the Home Depot parking lot.
As the ambulance pulls up to the area of the parking lot where the officers are, one of the SWAT officers who fired breaks the passenger window glass to open Andrews’ door and remove him from the vehicle.
Within two minutes of shots being fired, Andrews was placed on a stretcher and wheeled to the waiting ambulance. He was taken to Ohiohealth Grant Medical Center where he died from his injuries at 8:53 p.m. Saturday.
The officers found a handgun next to Andrews’ right hand in the vehicle and an empty holster on the floorboard of the front passenger seat.
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is investigating the shooting, as is Columbus policy in all police shootings in which someone is injured or killed. Columbus police will conduct an administrative investigation after the BCI investigation is complete.
The case will also be presented to the Franklin County Prosecutor’s office for review, as is the county’s policy in all fatal shootings involving police.
Andrews had been charged with rape in Athens County in December for an 2021 incident allegedly involving a child under the age of 13. An arrest warrant had been issued for Andrews, according to Athens County court records.
Court records also show Andrews fled the area after learning he had been accused of rape and expressed fears to relatives about spending the rest of his life in prison.
The SWAT officers involved are on administrative leave, as is policy. bbruner@dispatch.com @bethany_bruner