An internal review by Columbus police has found that an officer violated policy when she shot at a burglary suspect who stole her cruiser during an hours-long manhunt for him.

An internal review by Columbus police has found that an officer violated policy when she shot at a burglary suspect who stole her cruiser during an hours-long manhunt for him.

Documents from a review board and other officers say that Officer Billie Camp-Donovan�s actions on July 17, 2012, represented �critical misconduct� because the cruiser was moving away from her and did not pose a threat to her or others at the time.

The review further said that another car was in the line of fire and the shooting created a potential danger to the public.

The December and January reports were obtained by The Dispatch yesterday through a public-records request.

A recommendation sent to Police Chief Kim Jacobs suggests that Camp-Donovan face departmental charges.

�Departmental charges are usually associated with suspensions, demotions and terminations,� Sgt. Travis Parker wrote in the report. But he also noted that in all but one similar case reviewed, � The final discipline resulted in retraining of the officers found in violation and not in more severe discipline.�

Authorities said Camp-Donovan shot six times at her own police cruiser, which had been stolen by David J. O�Neal in the hours after he was suspected in a break-in. O�Neal wasn�t hit.

In that Far East Side burglary, another police officer shot and killed the man who lived there after that man called 911 to report that he was in his apartment and two men had just kicked in his door.

Investigators said Officer William Kaufman twice shot resident Destin Thomas, 21, who was holding a gun as he ran from his apartment at 7277 Brooke Blvd. in Fairfield County. Thomas was hit in his chest and hip and died at the scene.

O�Neal also ran from the apartment, but Kaufman mistook Thomas, who had wrested the gun from O'Neal, for the burglar. The other man who broke into the apartment has not been caught.

O�Neal, 20, of Shaker Heights, near Cleveland, has since been sentenced to 15 years to life in prison for murder and to more than 20 years for other crimes, including aggravated burglary. It was determined that he was responsible for Thomas� death by burglarizing his apartment.

The discipline recommendation for Camp-Donovan is an early step in a process and not a final determination, said Jason Pappas, president of Fraternal Order of Police Capital City Lodge No. 9.

He said the union generally pushes for retraining in such circumstances and that the chief typically makes the final decision.

Phone and email messages to further discuss the report were not returned by police spokesman Sgt. Rich Weiner yesterday.

Camp-Donovan, 42, could not be reached for comment.

Parker wrote in the report that Camp-Donovan has been a Columbus officer for 17 years and has a � history of making good and reasonable decisions in the performance of her duties.� He said that she had no backup on that date and that she thought that O�Neal was possibly armed and posed a threat to the public if allowed to escape.

The fatal shooting of Thomas by Kaufman, a 19-year police veteran, was deemed within policy.

A Fairfield County grand jury concluded in December that Kaufman�s actions were within the law.

jviviano@dispatch.com

@JoAnneViviano