Former Ohio Cop Charged With Murder In Fatal Shooting Of Andre Hill

A former Ohio police officer who fatally shot 47-year-old Andre Hill, an unarmed Black man who had been holding a cellphone, has been indicted by a grand jury in Hill’s death.

Adam Coy, who shot Hill on Dec. 22 after responding to a nonemergency call, was indicted on charges of murder, felonious assault and dereliction of duty, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said Wednesday.

Coy, a 17-year veteran of the force, was fired from the Columbus Police Department a few days after the deadly incident.

Columbus Public Safety Director Ned Pettus Jr. said at the time that Coy had not lived up “to the oath of a Columbus Police officer, or the standards we, and the community, demand of our officers,”

“The shooting of Andre Hill is a tragedy for all who loved him in addition to the community and our Division of Police,” Pettus said in a statement.

Body camera footage showed Coy shooting at Hill after encountering the unarmed man in a garage.

In the video, Hill is seen holding up a cellphone in his left hand, seconds before being shot at. His right hand is not visible.

Officer Amy Detweiler, who was on the scene at the time, said in an investigative interview that Coy claimed Hill was holding a gun.

“When [Hill] came around the car, that is when Officer Coy observed a firearm and yelled, ‘There’s a gun in his other hand, there’s a gun in his other hand,’ and then there were shots,” Detweiler said in the interview, according to CNN.

Detweiler noted that she hadn’t observed any threats from Hill and that Coy had not warned Hill of the impending shots. She added that she could not remember whether Coy had told Hill to drop the supposed gun.

The body camera footage of the incident lacked audio because Coy had not activated the body camera, the Associated Press reported. The footage was captured by an automatic “look back” feature.

Coy and the other officers at the scene have been scrutinized for their lack of action after the shooting. Hill did not receive first aid for several minutes — but police did place him in handcuffs.

Thomas Quinlan, the Columbus police chief who resigned last week, said after the shooting that he was “shaken” by the lack of humanity shown by the officers.

“As a police chief, and just as a human being, the events of the last week have left me shaken, and heartbroken for the family of Andre Hill,” Quinlan said in December.