Columbus Pays $1M Settlement Over Wrongful Child Custody Case
Columbus , Ohio – The City of Columbus has agreed to pay a $1 million settlement to a father after two rookie police officers mistakenly gave his 7-year-old son to his noncustodial mother in October 2023, leading to a seven-month disappearance.
The Columbus City Council approved the settlement in a unanimous 9-0 vote on October 20, compensating Lonnie Henry and his son, identified as K.G. The officers involved, Jacob Jernigan and Colby Scott, were both first-year police officers at the time.
City officials expressed outrage over the incident. Councilmember Nick Bankston called it a “stupid” mistake and said the city would have certainly lost the case if it went to trial.
Henry’s son was safely recovered in May 2024 after U.S. Marshals arrested the boy’s mother, Shadasia Gillyard, who is now facing multiple felony charges, including felonious assault. According to Henry’s attorney, Barton R. Keyes, Gillyard allegedly physically abused K.G. and kept him out of school during those seven months.
“This case underscores the importance of proper police training,” Keyes said, emphasizing that both officers lacked understanding of legal documents. Officer Scott later admitted he did not know the difference between a motion and a court order when Gillyard presented paperwork to retrieve the child.
The Columbus Department of the Inspector General confirmed that both officers violated police policy. They have since been retrained and disciplined, and new training on legal document verification has been incorporated into annual officer education.
Keyes noted that there was little action by Columbus police to locate the missing child, no Amber Alerts or multi-agency alerts were issued. Only in April 2024 did the U.S. Marshals release a public statement seeking help to find Gillyard and K.G.
The case aligns with findings from The Columbus Dispatch’s award-winning investigation “Vanished,” which revealed that Ohio law enforcement often fails to use all available tools to locate missing persons. Following the report, Governor Mike DeWine created a statewide task force to strengthen Ohio’s response to missing person cases.
Henry hopes this settlement will push the city to invest in better officer training and prevent similar tragedies in the future.
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