Officer Adam Coy was stripped of his badge and gun after killing 47-year-old Andre Maurice Hill, who walked up to the officer with a cell phone in his left hand and his right hand invisible when Coy opened fire, authorities said.
The officer had responded to a non-emergency call from a neighbor, according to the Columbus Department of Public Safety.
At a press conference on Wednesday, hours after attending Goodson’s funeral, Columbus mayor Andrew Ginther called for Coy to be fired. Ginther said Hill was an expected guest in the house where he was shot and that he “had not committed a crime.”
AG commits to ‘seeking the truth’
The authorities are in the early stages of an investigation that has been handed over to the Ohio Attorney General and the state criminal investigation office.
In a statement Wednesday, Attorney General Dave Yost said investigators will “conduct a full, independent and expert investigation – a search for the truth.”
“What we have now is an incomplete report,” said Yost. “We must allow the report to be completed and the evidence collected. Only the truth – the whole truth and nothing else – will lead to justice. ‘
Coy and another officer who responded to the call were equipped with body cameras, but only turned them on after the shooting, the Department of Public Safety said. A feature of the body-worn camera technology used by the Columbus Police Department provides a 60-second retrospective but does not record audio during that period, so no conversation is heard before or during the recording.
When the officer turns on his camera, he can be heard shouting orders to Hill, who was lying on the ground groaning.
“After further investigation of the incident, today I call for the immediate termination of Coy … who has not adhered to two guidelines: do not turn on his body-worn camera and provide no assistance after the shooting and no assistance.” Ginther said.
In all, Ginther said researchers have several minutes – “five, maybe seven or eight” minutes – of footage on the body-worn camera. He said Hill’s family watched the footage on Wednesday.
Ginther said he had “never seen such body-worn camera images where there was literally no attempt to revive and help this man who had committed no crime and was dying.”
No weapon has been found
In a statement from the Department of Public Safety, Columbus Chief of Police Thomas Quinlan said he was “troubled by the preliminary facts.” Coy has been “removed from duty” during an investigation.
Columbus Director of Public Safety Ned Pettus said Coy is a civil servant by law and entitled to a fair trial. CNN has contacted the Fraternal Order of Police Capital City Lodge No. 9, representing the officer.
Coy responded to the call shortly after 1:37 a.m., after the unidentified neighbor who called 911 reported that a man had sat in his SUV for a long time and turned his engine on and off repeatedly.
When police arrived at the house on the northwest side of town, they found a garage door open and a man inside, city officials said.
The camera images of the body captured from the 60-second retrospective show a flashlight illuminating Hill, walking next to a car to the officer, his cell phone in his left hand and his right hand invisible.
The officer retreats in seconds before firing his weapon and hitting Hill. When the audio turns on, Coy should order Hill to put his hands aside.
Hill died in the hospital just before 2:30 a.m. No weapon was not found on the spot.
“As 2020 draws to a close, with the tragic succession of shootings involving police officers and giving rise to so many unforgettable hashtags, we get to see another compelling example of why police reforms and a national standard for police behavior are so desperately needed,” said Crump.
“We won’t stop until we get justice for Andre.”