Andre Hill: Ex-officer Adam Coy found guilty of shooting in 2020

A former police officer was convicted Monday of murdering Andre Hill, a Black man who was holding a cellphone and keys when he was killed.

Officer Adam Coy, who served with the Columbus Police Department for nearly 20 years, shot Hill four times in a garage nearly four years ago.

Coy, who is white, was fired after the shooting. He later told jurors he believed Hill was holding a silver revolver. “I thought I was going to die,” he testified.

It wasn't until he rolled over Hill's body and saw the keys that he realized there was no gun, Coy said. “I knew at that point I had made a mistake. I was horrified.”

Coy, who was partially unseen by his grim-faced lawyers, did not visibly react to the verdict, but muffled screams could be heard in the courtroom as it was announced.

Prosecutors called for the former officer to be sentenced immediately, but Franklin County Judge Stephen McIntosh instead set a Nov. 25 sentencing date.

Police body camera footage showed Hill emerging from the garage of a friend's home with a cellphone in his left hand seconds before he was fatally shot by Coy, his right hand not visible.

Nearly 10 minutes passed before officers on scene began helping Hill, who lay bleeding on the garage floor. He was pronounced dead at a hospital.

Weeks after the December 2020 shooting, the mayor forced the police chief to resign after a series of fatal police shootings of Black men and children. Columbus later agreed to a $10 million settlement with Hill's family, the largest in the city's history.

The Columbus City Council also passed Andre's Law, which requires police officers to provide immediate medical aid to an injured suspect.

Prosecutors said Hill, 47, followed the officer's commands and was never a threat to Coy, who now faces at least 15 years in prison. “We are taught to do what the police tell you and you can survive this encounter,” Franklin County Assistant Prosecutor Anthony Pierson said during closing arguments. “That didn’t happen here.”

The officer's attorneys argued that Hill's lack of a weapon didn't matter because Coy believed his life was in danger. “He wasn't reckless, he was sensible,” said attorney Mark Collins.

Coy had gone to the neighborhood to investigate a complaint about someone in a moving vehicle when he first encountered Hill in an SUV.

Hill told Coy that he was waiting for a friend to come outside. The officer said he thought Hill appeared distant and then suspicious after Hill went to a house and knocked on the door before entering the garage.

Coy said he lost sight of Hill and suspected he might be trying to break into the house. Coy used a flashlight to spot Hill in the garage and asked him to come out, the officer testified.

As Hill approached him, Coy said he couldn't see the man's right hand and then saw what he thought was a revolver. He said he yelled, “Gun! Pistol!” and then shot Hill.

Family and friends said Hill – a father and grandfather – was devoted to his family and a skilled craftsman who dreamed of one day owning his own restaurant after working for years as a chef and restaurant manager.

According to his personnel file, Coy has a long history of complaints from residents, with more than three dozen filed against him since he joined the department in 2002. A dozen of the complaints involved use of force. All but a few were deemed “unfounded” or “not sustained.”