Wednesday, July 10, 8pm
Columbus City Hall, 90. W. Broad St.
Join us as we remember Kareem and other sons and daughters lost to excessive police force,

Kareem Ali Nadir Jones, a Black man from Franklinton, was 30 years-old when he was fatally shot by officers Samuel James and Marc Johnson on July 7, 2017, hardly one year after some police were issued body cameras.

Jones died from the gunshot wounds three days later. His killing was the first ever to be recorded on body cameras in Columbus and used as evidence during an investigation, according to the Columbus Division of Police.

All body-worn cameras have a 60-second look-back feature that captures the previous 60 seconds of video immediately prior to activating the camera, but the feature does not capture sound.

There is no audio for the first 60 seconds of James’ recording. No one can hear what the officers said when they approached Jones, guns drawn as soon as they exited the vehicle. The audio in James’ body camera footage doesn’t start until after Jones is bleeding on the ground, indicating that James activated his camera only after he shot Jones. Johnson did not turn his camera on until well after the incident.

Neither officer was indicted. Jones, whose empty hands were in the air when officers arrived on-scene, did have a gun in his waistband. His sister said she thinks he was attempting to throw the gun, but according to a report from WOSU, Jason Pappas, former president of the local Fraternal Order of the Police and current vice president, said officers are not trained to use “less than lethal force in a lethal situation.”