Ex-officer found guilty in the 2020 shooting death of Andre Hill
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[November 05, 2024]
By JOHN SEEWER
A former police officer was convicted of murder Monday in the shooting
of Andre Hill, a Black man who was holding a cellphone and keys when he
was killed.
Officer Adam Coy, who served nearly 20 years with the Columbus police
force, shot Hill four times in a garage nearly four years ago. Coy, who
is white, was fired after the shooting. He told jurors that he thought
Hill was holding a silver revolver that turned out to be keys.
“I thought I was going to die,” he testified. It was only after he
rolled over Hill’s body and saw the keys that he realized there was no
gun, Coy said tearfully. “I knew at that point I made a mistake. I was
horrified.”
Coy, who was partially blocked from view by his grim-faced attorneys,
did not visibly react to the verdict but muffled cries could be heard in
the courtroom when it was announced. Prosecutors asked that the former
officer be sentenced immediately. Franklin County Judge Stephen McIntosh
instead set a sentencing date of Nov. 25.
Coy, who is undergoing cancer treatments for Hodgkin lymphoma, was
devastated, said defense attorney Mark Collins, who slightly shook his
head “no” when the verdict was read and later promised to appeal.
Police body camera footage showed Hill coming out of the garage of a
friend’s house holding up a cellphone in his left hand, his right hand
not visible, seconds before he was fatally shot by Coy. Almost 10
minutes passed before officers at the scene began to aid Hill, who lay
bleeding on the garage floor. He was pronounced dead at a hospital.
Weeks after the December 2020 shooting, the mayor forced out the police
chief after a series of fatal police shootings of Black men and
children. Columbus later reached a $10 million settlement with Hill’s
family, the largest in city history. The Columbus City Council also
passed Andre’s Law, which requires police officers to render immediate
medical attention to an injured suspect.
Prosecutors said Hill, 47, had followed the officer’s commands and was
never a threat to Coy, who now faces at least 15 years in prison. The
jury also found him guilty of reckless homicide and felonious assault.
“We’re taught, 'Do what the cops tell you to do and you can survive that
encounter,'” Franklin County assistant prosecutor Anthony Pierson said
during closing arguments. “That’s not what happened here.”
Shawna Barnett, one of Hill’s sisters, hoped the jury's decision would a
send message that violence from police won’t be tolerated.
“It’s been way too long, but I’m glad it's over,” she said. “It’s time
to stop. It’s time to make everything fair.”
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In this image from video, former police officer Adam Coy, left, sits
in court in Columbus, Ohio, on Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, before the
verdict is read in his trial over the shooting of Andre Hill, a
Black man who was holding a cellphone and keys when he was killed. (WSYX/WTTE
via AP, Pool)
Brian Steel, president of the police union in Columbus, said he was
shocked by the murder conviction and said it would cause ripple
effects for officers in Ohio and beyond.
“Your split-second decision can now be led to murder,” he said. “It
is absolutely insane.”
“Officers are willing to die for their community, they are willing
to die for this job,” Steel said. “They do not want to go to prison
for this job."
The officer’s attorneys argued that Hill’s lack of a weapon did not
matter because Coy thought his life was in danger. “He wasn’t
reckless, he was reasonable,” Collins said during the trial.
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who has represented Hill’s family,
said the verdict showed no one is above the law and sent a message
that “accountability in law enforcement is not optional.”
“Andre was an unarmed, innocent man, and his life was taken with
disregard for the duty to protect and serve,” Crump said in a
statement.
Coy had gone to the neighborhood to investigate a complaint about
someone inside a running vehicle when he first encountered Hill
sitting in an SUV. Hill told Coy he was waiting on a friend to come
outside.
The officer said he thought Hill seemed dismissive and then
suspicious after Hill walked to a house and knocked on the door
before entering the garage.
Coy said he lost sight of Hill and suspected he might be trying to
break into the house. Coy used a flashlight to spot Hill in the
garage and told him to come out, the officer testified.
When Hill walked toward him, Coy said he could not see the man’s
right hand and then saw what he thought was a revolver. He said he
yelled, “Gun! Gun!” and then fired at Hill.
Family and friends said Hill — a father and grandfather — was
devoted to his family and was a skilled tradesman who dreamed of one
day owning his own restaurant, after years of work as a chef and
restaurant manager.
Coy had a lengthy history of complaints from residents, with more
than three dozen filed against him since he joined the department in
2002, according to his personnel file. A dozen of the complaints
were for use of force. All but a few were marked “unfounded” or “not
sustained.”
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