US

Ohio Police Officer Fired After Bodycam Footage Showed Fatal Shooting Of Black Man

(Screenshot/Associated Press via YouTube)

Varun Hukeri General Assignment & Analysis Reporter
Font Size:

A police officer in Columbus, Ohio was fired Monday after bodycam footage showed him fatally shooting a black man and failing to administer first aid for several minutes after the incident.

Officer Adam Coy’s firing was announced hours after a hearing was held to determine his employment status, according to the Associated Press. Columbus Public Safety Director Ned Pettus said in a statement Monday that Coy’s fatal shooting of Andre Hill and his actions afterwards were unjustified.

“The actions of Adam Coy do not live up to the oath of a Columbus Police officer, or the standards we, and the community, demand of our officers,” the statement read. “The shooting of Andre Hill is a tragedy for all who loved him in addition to the community and our Division of Police.”

Police bodycam footage released by the City of Columbus shows the Dec. 22 shooting. Coy and a female officer were responding to a non-emergency disturbance call when they spotted Hill in an open garage with his back turned to the police, according to The Columbus Dispatch. (RELATED: Police Release Bodycam Video, Identify Officers Involved In Walter Wallace Jr. Shooting)

Coy had his gun drawn as Hill approached the officers with a cellphone in his left hand and his right hand in his coat pocket, according to the bodycam footage. Coy then shot Hill as he approached the entrance to the garage.

WATCH:

Columbus Police Chief Thomas Quinlan announced in a Dec. 24 statement that he filed two departmental charges against Coy and recommended his termination. The charges filed against Coy included alleged unreasonable use of force and failure to aid Hill after the shooting, according to ABC6.

Quinlan commended the city’s decision after Coy was fired, WRGT reported. “This is what accountability looks like,” he said in a statement. “The evidence provided solid rationale for termination. Mr. Coy will now have to answer to the state investigators for the death of Andre Hill.”

Democratic Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther released a statement Monday applauding the decision, ABC6 reported. “The family and the entire community deserve it,” he said.

Coy remains under criminal investigation for the shooting. A separate investigation was also opened into the other officers present over allegations they also violated department protocols, according to the Associated Press.