Columbus Police Officer Faces Federal Charges for Forcing Women to Have Sex ‘For Their Freedom’
Former Columbus Police Officer Andrew Mitchell, 55, was arrested and federally indicted on Monday, March 11 according to recently unsealed documents by the Department of Justice. Mitchell faces three counts of deprivation of rights under color of law, two counts witness tampering, one count witness tampering, and one count of making false statements. Mitchell stands accused of using his position as a law enforcement officer to commit crimes and deny victims’ constitutional rights by kidnapping three different victims under the guise of an arrest and forcing them to engage in sex for their freedom. He is also alleged to have pressured others to help cover up his crimes and to have lied to authorities. Federal investigators are still gathering information, and are asking anyone who may have been a victim of Officer Mitchell (or any other officers) to come forward immediately.
If the name Officer Andrew Mitchell sounds familiar, you are right. In September 2018, Mitchell was in the headlines after he killed 23-year-old Donna Dalton during an undercover prostitution sting. According to the Columbus Police Department, Mitchell tried to take Dalton, mother of two young girls and alleged sex worker, into custody. CPD said the two engaged in “an altercation,” and Mitchell shot and killed Dalton in his vehicle. Mitchell was taken to the hospital to treat wounds on his hand where Dalton had stabbed him with a knife. CPD later described Donna Dalton as an “armed suspect” in their subsequent investigation.
Since the incident, it has been discovered that Officer Mitchell was the subject of an internal affairs investigation at the time of the shooting. Mitchell had also made over 80 prostitution-related arrests in 2018, overwhelmingly almost all of them women. Dalton’s family has demanded retribution for the death of Donna. They are asking anyone who may have any additional information about Officer Mitchell to come forward at this time.
Determining if the aforementioned incidents of Officer’s Mitchell’s arrest and Donna Dalton’s death are related remains unclear. The events are still unsettling nonetheless. Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein has since announced that his office will be dismissing all open and active cases that solely involve Officer Mitchell, and reviewing his past cases on a 1-on-1 basis. If you or a loved one have any additional information about Officer Mitchell, or feel as if you have been subjected to police misconduct by Officer Mitchell or anyone else, please reach out to our law firm at
Disclaimer: The materials available on this page are for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. If you still have questions about police misconduct, it would be best for to contact an attorney to obtain advice with respect to any issue or problem. Use and access to this website or any of the links contained within the site do not create an attorney-client relationship.
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