A white police officer was charged with murder in the United States for shooting an unarmed black man in the state of Ohio.
The murder of Andre Hill shortly before Christmas in the city of Columbus sparked another wave of protests across the country against police brutality against African Americans.
Adam Coy, 47, the white police officer who shot Hill on December 22, was arrested on Wednesday and charged with murderauthorities said.
Announcing the indictment Wednesday night, Dave Yost, the state attorney general, said that “the same rules apply.” [se aplican] to everyone”.
“The truth is justice’s best friend, and the grand jury here has found the truth,” said Yost. “Andre Hill can’t be dead.”
Coy was fired by Columbus Police in January.
He and another officer responded to a non-emergency call about a suspicious vehicle when they encountered Hill leaving the garage of a visiting friend.
The camera images of the body Coy show Hill approaching officers with a cell phone in his left hand. His other hand is not visible.
After a few seconds, Cory opened fire and officers did not immediately offer assistance to the dying man.
Hill’s death came just weeks after the Columbus murder of another unarmed black man, Casey Goodson Jr., 23, who was shot and killed by a deputy sheriff when she returned home after buying sandwiches.
Protests for racial justice and against police brutality swept across the United States last summer following the death of George Floyd, a black man murdered by a white police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The officer, Derek Chauvin, will be tried on March 8.