Mother questions motives of police officer who shot her son, a concealed handgun licensee

A late night at Lucky’s Bar and Grill in Columbus nearly turned deadly for an Ohio concealed handgun licensee last month.

According to the Columbus Dispatch, Joseph Davis Jr. told his mother he and a friend were in his car in the bar's parking lot when a fight among some women broke out nearby. In the chaos that followed, Davis says he honked his horn at the crowd and tried to leave, but was approached by a Columbus police officer.

From the article:

The police officer approached the passenger’s side of Davis’ car, where the window was down. He turned a flashlight beam on them and Davis’ gun was visible in his pocket.

Davis told his mother that he looked down at the gun, then both he and his passenger raised their hands.

The officer then fired inside the car, hitting Davis. He was then pulled out of the driver’s seat, put on the ground and handcuffed.

Davis later told WTTE (Fox Columbus) "I thought I was dead. I thought he was going to keep shooting." Instead, Davis was transported to Grant medial hospital for a gunshot wound to the stomach. He is expected to make a full recovery.

Davis says the officer shot him through the glass window of his car. Witnesses at the scene also dispute the Dispatch's report (above) that the window was down.

Davis' mother, Tonyen Ross, says her son and his friend told her he did not reach for the gun in his pocket. Despite the fact that both Davis and the police officer who fired the shot are black, Davis' mother suggests that racial profiling was behind the incident:

He is more than 6 feet tall, has dreadlocks and had a gun in his pocket.

That’s why Tonyen Ross believes her son, Joseph Davis Jr., was shot by a Columbus police officer who was working special duty at an East Side bar over the weekend.

“It’s profiling,” Ross said. “He fit the profile of someone who carries.”

According to his family, Davis is a high school graduate, with a full time job, and that he stays out of trouble. His mother told the Dispatch that he has no felony record, and is licensed to carry a concealed weapon. She said he wasn’t drunk or high that night. She said her son goes to church and helps take care of a grandmother who has Alzheimer’s disease.

For their part, and though they have released few details about the shooting, police say they believe the officer acted appropriately:

Jason Pappas, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Capital City Lodge No. 9, went to the shooting scene that night. And though he said he doesn’t know the investigative details of the case, he believes Woods acted within legal and departmental policy.

“I am confident that a review of the shooting will show that the officer was right from beginning to the end,” Pappas said.

The officer who shot Davis has been identified as Emanuel Woods, a 30 year-old who has been a Columbus police officer for two years.

Departmental policies mandate an internal review take place after any officer-involved shooting.

Buckeye Firearms Association will continue to monitor this story and provide updates as they become available.

Chad D. Baus is the Buckeye Firearms Association Secretary, BFA PAC Vice Chairman, and an NRA-certified firearms instructor. He is the editor of BuckeyeFirearms.org, which received the Outdoor Writers of Ohio 2013 Supporting Member Award for Best Website.

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