The former Columbus police officer charged with the murder of Andre Hill has been charged with murder, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced at a news conference Wednesday night. Adam Coy is accused of shooting Hill, a 47-year-old black man, during an early morning meeting in a garage in late December.
Coy was charged with murder in the commission of a felony, felony, dereliction of duty for failing to activate his body camera, and dereliction of duty for not telling his fellow officer he believed Hill posed a danger, Yost said. The major jurors have not charged Coy with willful murder.
“Andre Hill must not be dead,” Yost said, adding later, “I believe the evidence on this case supports the charges.”
Benjamin Crump
Authorities said the shooting occurred after a neighbor reported a person repeatedly starting the engine of an SUV and stopping on a residential street around 1:30 am. Body cameras showed Coy approaching Hill, which was in a garage. As Hill walked over to Coy with a cellphone in his left hand, Coy fired his service weapon. Hill fell to the ground when Coy called to show his hands.
The video did not show Coy was providing medical care. Hill later died of his injuries, and a preliminary autopsy ruled his death a murder.
Coy was arrested peacefully at his attorney’s office earlier Wednesday night and will appear in court on Thursday, Yost said. Coy’s lawyers said he will not be guilty of the charges.
“The function of the grand jury is unique: determining whether there is a likely reason to press charges,” attorneys Mark Collins and Kaitlyn Stephens said in a statement. “This is a very different and, more importantly, much lower standard than what the state of Ohio will have to prove in a trial.”
“This case must be judged on both an objective and subjective standard,” added the lawyers. “The totality of the circumstances should be considered, along with Officer Coy’s training and experience, and viewed through the lens of a reasonable police officer; not with the 20/20 hindsight advantage.”
Agent Amy Detweiler, who was in place when Coy died, she later told investigators that she heard Coy scream, “There’s a gun in his other hand, there’s a gun in his other!” just before firing his weapon. Authorities have said no weapons have been found on the spot. Detweiler also told investigators that she had not seen a weapon and that she “had not perceived any threat from Mr. Hill.”
Officials said Coy had not activated his body camera for the recordings. Instead, video of the encounter was captured by a 60-second “look back” feature that Coy activated when he turned on his camera after the recording. The “review” function does not capture audio.
Two days after the shooting, the town police chief said he recommended Coy’s termination.
“I’ve seen everything I need to come to the conclusion that Agent Coy should be fired immediately,” Columbus Police Chief Thomas Quinlan wrote in a public statement announcing his recommendation.
In his letter to the town’s public safety director, Quinlan said that Coy “had no direct reason to believe that criminal activity was in progress and certainly had no inclination to believe that Mr. Hill posed a threat to officers,” adding that Coy retained his right to his position as a police officer. ”
Quinlan noted in his report that Coy “responded very sadly with profanity when he realized that Mr. Hill was unarmed,” saying that Coy could be heard on his body camera “becoming physically ill” in the aftermath of the shooting. But he wrote nonetheless that “Officer Coy’s use of force was not objectively reasonable, he was not using trained techniques, using his BWC correctly, and not providing medical assistance.”
Coy was fired days later. In a statement announcing Coy’s termination, the public safety director said his actions “are not in line with a Columbus police officer’s oath, or the standards that we, and the community, demand of our officers.”
Hill’s family, represented by lawyer Benjamin Crump, had previously called for Coy to be arrested. Crump tweeted Wednesday that the allegations are the “first steps to get Andre and his family JUSTICE.”