Ex-police officer convicted of shooting to death black man holding cellphone and keys

(AP) – A former police officer was convicted Monday of shooting and killing Andre Hill, a black man who was holding a cellphone and keys when he was killed.

Officer Adam Coy, who had been on the Columbus police force for nearly 20 years, shot Hill four times in a garage about four years ago. Coy, who is white, was fired after the shooting. He told jurors he thought Hill was holding a silver gun, which turned out to be a key.

“I thought I was going to die,” he testified. Coy, in tears, said she only realized there was no gun after rolling over Hill’s body and seeing the keys. “At that point I knew I had made a mistake. “I was horrified.”

Coy, whose view was partially obscured by his grim-faced lawyers, did not visibly react to the verdict, but muffled screams could be heard in the courtroom when the verdict was announced. Prosecutors demanded that the former officer be punished immediately. Franklin County Judge Stephen McIntosh instead set the sentencing date for Nov. 25.

Defense attorney Mark Collins said Coy, who was undergoing cancer treatment for Hodgkin lymphoma, was devastated and shook his head slightly “no” when the verdict was read and promised to appeal later.

Police body camera footage showed Hill emerging from the garage of a friend’s home, holding a cellphone in his left hand, seconds before he was fatally shot by Coy, his right hand not visible. Almost 10 minutes passed before police officers arrived at the scene and began helping Hill, who was lying in a pool of blood on the floor of the garage. He was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Weeks after the December 2020 shooting, the mayor fired the police chief following a series of deadly police shootings against Black men and boys. Columbus later reached a $10 million settlement with Hill’s family, the largest in the city’s history. The Columbus City Council also passed Andre’s Law, which requires police officers to provide immediate medical attention to an injured suspect.

Prosecutors said Hill, 47, complied with the officer’s orders and never posed a threat to Coy, who now faces at least 15 years in prison. The jury also found him guilty of manslaughter and aggravated assault.

“We were taught, ‘Do what the cops tell you and you can survive this encounter,'” Franklin County assistant prosecutor Anthony Pierson said during closing arguments. “That’s not what’s happening here.”

Shawna Barnett, one of Hill’s sisters, hoped the jury’s verdict would send a message that police brutality will not be tolerated.

“It’s been a long time coming, but I’m glad it’s over,” he said. “It’s time to stop. It’s time to make everything fair.”

Brian Steel, president of the police union in Columbus, said he was shocked by the murder conviction and said it would have negative impacts on police officers in Ohio and beyond.

“Your split-second decision could now lead to murder,” he said. “This is absolutely insane.”

“Officers are willing to die for their communities, they’re willing to die for this job,” Steel said. “They don’t want to go to jail for this.”

The officer’s attorneys argued that it didn’t matter that Hill didn’t have the gun because Coy thought his life was in danger. “He wasn’t careless, he was reasonable,” Collins said during the hearing.

Ben Crump, a civil rights attorney who represents Hill’s family, said the ruling shows no one is above the law and sends the message that “accountability in law enforcement is not optional.”

“Andre was an unarmed, innocent man whose life was taken in defiance of his duty to protect and serve,” Crump said in a statement.

The first time Coy saw Hill sitting in an SUV, he had gone to the neighborhood to investigate a complaint about someone inside a running vehicle. Hill told Coy he was waiting for a friend to come out.

The officer said he thought Hill appeared unconcerned and became suspicious after Hill went to a home and knocked on the door before entering the garage.

Coy said he lost sight of Hill and suspected she was trying to enter the house. The officer testified that Coy used a flashlight to locate Hill in the garage and told him to get out.

When Hill walked toward him, Coy said he couldn’t see the man’s right hand and then saw what he thought was a gun. He said he shouted: “Gun! Gun!” and then fired at Hill.

Hill, a father and grandfather, was devoted to his family and a talented tradesman who dreamed of one day owning his own restaurant after working for years as a chef and restaurant manager, family and friends said.

Coy had a long history of complaints from residents, with more than three dozen cases filed against him since he joined the department in 2002, according to his personnel file. A dozen of the complaints involved use of force. All but a few were marked as “unsubstantiated” or “unsustainable”.

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