Columbus police officers indicted and charged in shooting of man on Manchester Expressway

Two officers have been indicted and charged in the shooting of a man in 2024, the Columbus Police Department announced Tuesday.

A news release from CPD says, “The Columbus Police Department acknowledges and respects the decision of the grand jury regarding the officer involved shooting of Jermaine Hernandez on February 7, 2024.”

The news release doesn’t provide the names of the officers. Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit District Attorney Don Kelly told the Ledger-Enquirer the officers are Kenneth Rammage and Xavier Perez.

CPD’s public information officer, Brittany Santiago, told the L-E the officers have been placed on administrative leave without pay.

The Ledger-Enquirer has asked CPD for any disciplinary history for each officer. That information wasn’t provided before publication.

Details about the shooting

The shooting occurred around 8:05 a.m. Feb. 7, 2024, on Manchester Expressway, the Ledger-Enquirer reported then.

Police said a grand jury returned a true bill of indictment, charging the officers with aggravated assault and aggravated battery.

Cindy Conner told Ledger-Enquirer she was inside a building near the scene at her job at Safe Guard Forms and Systems Inc., on Coca-Cola Boulevard, when she heard shots.

Conner went outside to check after hearing approximately 10-12 gun shots. She looked across the street and saw two police officers cautiously approaching a vehicle.

Later, she saw police pull a person out of a vehicle while more police cars and an ambulance arrived on the scene.

“The guy, he’s in the car, two policemen are behind him, they have their guns drawn.,” Conner said. “About the time they pull him out, you just see the cop cars lining up.”

The officers were placed on administrative leave with pay, pending the conclusion of the investigation, police said at the time.

A news release from the GBI in February 2024 said preliminary information indicated CPD officers conducted a traffic stop on Manchester Expressway on a vehicle traveling 100 mph in a construction zone.

Hernandez was identified as the driver, according to the GBI.

The news release said the car reportedly backfired during the traffic stop, causing a loud noise that sounded like gunfire.

The officers then shot at Hernandez multiple times, striking him once, according to the GBI.

The GBI said officers and EMS provided first aid at the scene before taking Hernandez to a local hospital for treatment.

Hernandez tells his side

Hernandez told his side of the story later in February 2024 at a news conference.

Hernandez said he was traveling along Manchester Expressway while heading to work and had passed the Miller Road exit when he noticed a police car on the side of the road. He said he moved over and slowed down, causing his vehicle to make a popping noise.

Hernandez said the police vehicle pulled out and put its lights on, prompting him to pull over and prepare the proper documents for the stop.

Earlier during his ride, Hernandez said, he had tried to spit out the window and then wanted to clean up the residue before police approached the car. He grabbed his son’s blanket to clean it, Hernandez said.

While cleaning it, he accidentally pressed the gas pedal, Hernandez said, causing the vehicle’s engine to rev and the car to backfire.

Hernandez said his hands went straight up when the shooting began. He said a bullet went through his front windshield directly over his steering wheel.

Hernandez said a bullet struck him in the hand while his hands were outside the window and caused him to raise his hands higher.

“I don’t know if they saw my hands or what, but they’re obviously out the window,” Hernandez said.

Hernandez said he saw his finger bent sideways with blood dripping down his wrist. He began to yell that he was unarmed, that he was on his way to work and he has a newborn child, who was not in the car, Hernandez said.

When officers began to approach his vehicle after ceasing fire, Hernandez said, he began pointing with his head to show how to unlock his car doors.

“Please get me out,” Hernandez said he told officers.

When he was out of the vehicle, Hernandez said, he was taken to the back of his vehicle with his arm straight up and one officer gripping his elbow.

Hernandez said officers asked whether he was OK and whether he got hit anywhere else.

Hernandez asked officers to check and see whether he got hit in his shoulder. He said officers repeated that they weren’t going to do that until the ambulance came.

When he told his son about the incident, Hernandez said, his son told him, “Good thing I wasn’t in the car. I could’ve been shot too.”

“That was one of the hardest things for me to hear from my son,” Hernandez said, holding back tears. “The only thing I could tell him was I would never let anything like that happen to him.”

This story was originally published March 19, 2025 at 10:54 AM.