The death of DeShawn Leeth, a 30-year-old Ohio man, could’ve easily been spun into a “George Floyd 2.0” narrative — and it’s certainly not for a lack of trying.
Early and ongoing accounts painted him as a “community leader,” priming him for martyrdom.
But body camera footage shattered that illusion, proving once again the value of unfiltered evidence.
Leeth’s fatal encounter with police on April 4, as reported by CBS News, sparked immediate sympathy. A GoFundMe page mourned him as a “dedicated community leader” whose “light was extinguished too soon.”
Without context, it’s certainly a compelling story: a black man killed by police, ripe for outrage. Activists were ready to cry systemic racism, likening it to George Floyd’s 2020 death.
But the truth wasn’t so tidy.
Any attempt to liken this to George Floyd was dispelled the moment the video was released. Body cam footage from the Ohio State Highway Patrol told a different story, one of aggression, not martyrdom.
The community activist and charity worker was immediately hostile with an officer on contact, eventually striking him and stealing the patrol car. Leeth crashed a vehicle on the Ohio Turnpike, then attacked the responding trooper, per WKBN-TV.
The officer