Story at a glance
- Andre Maurice Hill, 47, was shot and killed by Columbus police officer Adam Coy.
- Coy and the other officer at the scene failed to turn on their body cameras as required by department policy until after the shooting.
- Newly released video shows that neither offered Hill medical aid after the shooting.
Video of the police shooting of an unarmed Black man shows that multiple officers failed to provide medical aid after the shooting on Dec. 22, instead stepping aside as the officer who shot the victim appears to vomit and get a drink of water.
Columbus Police identified Andre Maurice Hill for the first time as the 47-year-old Black unarmed man shot and killed by Adam Coy, a police officer of 19 years whose identity was also revealed in a statement from the city. Coy has been “relieved of duty” pending the investigation.
“I am outraged by the shooting. I am also very disturbed by what I don’t see next in the body worn camera footage,” said Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther in a press conference streamed on Facebook, revealing that neither of the two officers present at the scene provided medical assistance to Hill. “It is an officer’s duty to not only summon a medic but also to render aid. Columbus Division of Police’s core values are integrity, compassion, accountability, respect and excellence. From the body-worn camera footage we’ve seen, these values were absent and not on display while Mr. Hill lay dying.”
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Video released by the Columbus Department of Public Safety shows the last minute of Hill’s life, although no audio is available as officers had not turned on their body cameras. The officers point their flashlights as they and Hill, a guest at the address, approach one another in front of an open garage. Hill had one hand at his side and held a phone in the other. In less than nine seconds, Coy drew his gun and shot Hill.
In audio from the body camera turned on after the shooting, Coy yells demands at Hill, then rolls him over and shines a flashlight around his body. Minutes later, another officer arrives at the scene for support and Coy, who is heard likely vomiting or dry-heaving, is heard saying, “Trying to figure out what I missed.”
The officer responded “We’ll take care of that, I promise you. We don’t gotta say anything about this right this second.”
12/23/20 Update on Officer-Involved Shooting. pic.twitter.com/FTbmqkVFCT
— Columbus Department of Public Safety (@ColumbusSafety) December 23, 2020
“This is a very sad day for our city. The city I grew up in, the city my grandchildren now grow up in. The city I have lived in all my life as a Black man. To our Black community – I say this – I know your pain – I understand your fears and your anger,” said Ned Pettus, Jr. in a statement on the Columbus DPS’s Twitter account. “But I am not just a Black man. I am the Director of Public Safety.”
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Pettus said the position required him to put “personal emotions” aside and follow the discipline process outlined in the Collective Bargaining Agreement with the Fraternal Order of Police. Police Chief Thomas Quinlan will serve Coy with a list of charges before a hearing before Pettus, who promised “a fair, impartial hearing.”
Hill’s family hired civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who has represented other Black victims of police violence, including Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and Jacob Blake.
Ben Crump has been retained by the family of Andre Hill, 47, an unarmed Black man who was shot by a Columbus police officer early Tuesday morning. #JusticeForAndreHill pic.twitter.com/VzT4dU25sf
— Ben Crump Law, PLLC (@BenCrumpLaw) December 24, 2020
The day after Hill died, Columbus residents attended the funeral of another Black man, Casey Goodson Jr., who was shot and killed by local police as he entered his own home in Columbus.
“This city, not only is not safe for black people, but the city officials, they’ll say one thing and do another and we just want people to be aware of that and to continue to organize,” Hana Abdur-Rahim, the co-executive director of Central Ohio Freedom Fund, told the Columbus Dispatch.
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