A former Ohio police officer was convicted of murder in connection to the shooting death of Andre Hill, a Black man who was carrying a cellphone and keys when he was killed.
Body camera footage showed Hill coming out of his friend’s garage holding a phone in his left hand when he was fatally shot in December 2020 by ex-Columbus officer Adam Coy. Hill’s right hand wasn’t visible in the footage, and Coy testified that he believed the victim was holding a silver revolver that actually turned out to be keys.
“I thought I was going to die,” Coy testified. When he rolled over Hill’s body and realized there wasn’t a gun, Coy said: “I knew at that point I made a mistake. I was horrified.”
It took almost 10 minutes before officers at the scene began rendering aid to Hill, who was bleeding out on the garage floor. Hill was later taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Prosecutors said Hill followed the officer’s commands and was never a threat to Coy. Coy’s attorneys argued that their client thought his life was in danger so Hill’s lack of weapon didn’t matter.
“He wasn’t reckless, he was reasonable,” Coy’s attorneys said during the trial.
Coy, who is White, was fired after the shooting. Hill’s family was later awarded a $10 million settlement from the city of Columbus. City council also passed Andre’s law, requiring police to render immediate aid to an injured suspect.
Along with his murder conviction, a jury found Coy guilty of reckless homicide and felonious assault. He is set to be sentenced on November 25.
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