COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A former police officer was found guilty of murder in a shooting Monday. Andre HillA black man who had his cell phone and keys in his hand 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 later told jurors he thought Hill was holding a silver gun.

“I thought I was going to die,” he testified. Coy said it was only after he walked over Hill’s body and saw the keys that he realized there was no gun. “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 sought immediate sentencing of the former police officer, but Franklin County Judge Stephen McIntosh instead set a sentencing date of Nov. 25.

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.

Mayor weeks after December 2020 shooting Forcibly dismissed police chief Following a series of deadly police shootings against black men and children. Columbus later reached $10 million settlement The largest in the city’s history, along with Hill’s family. 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.

“We are taught to do what cops tell you to do, and you can survive this encounter,” Franklin County assistant prosecutor Anthony Pierson said during closing arguments. “That’s not what’s happening here.”

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,” attorney Mark Collins said.

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.

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

Coy had long history of complaints More than three dozen people have filed charges 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”.

First Publication Date: November 4, 2024 12:26 CST