An Ohio grand jury on Wednesday indicted a former Columbus police officer in the fatal shooting of a Black man who was at the garage of a home where he was a guest, the state attorney general said.
Adam Coy, a 19-year veteran of the Columbus Police Department, was indicted on murder in the commission of a felony and other counts and was arrested at his lawyer’s office, Attorney General Dave Yost said.
Coy fatally shot Andre Maurice Hill, 47, on Dec. 22 after responding to a call that a person in a vehicle had been turning the engine on and off.
Coy said he thought he saw a gun in Hill’s hand, Yost said, but no weapon was found.
The fatal shooting sparked outrage, and Coy was fired from the Columbus police force.
Dec. 24, 202001:34
An attorney for Coy could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday evening.
Mark Collins, an attorney for Coy, told The Columbus Dispatch that Coy was not surprised at being indicted, and said that Coy told investigators he thought a silver key ring in Hill’s hand was a silver revolver.
“The Supreme Court has said the officers are allowed to make mistakes, if the mistake is reasonable through the lens of a reasonable police officer,” Collins said. “Adam Coy was mistaken. He thought the keys were a revolver and he reacted based on his training.”
The officer failed to turn on his body camera prior to shooting Hill and failed to provide medical assistance, the police chief said in recommending that Coy be fired.
Hill was a guest of the homeowner and had not committed a crime when two officers approached the garage he was standing in around 1:30 a.m. Both officers who interacted with Hill failed to activate their body-worn cameras until immediately after the shooting, a violation of department protocol.
A “look back” feature on the department’s camera was able to capture the 60-seconds before the camera turned on, but did not record audio.
The video shows Coy using his flashlight as he walked up the driveway. Hill then walks toward the officers while holding his cellphone when the officer fired his weapon. Hill’s other hand couldn’t be seen clearly.
Body camera footage then showed officers failing to render aid or medical assistance for Hill as he lay on the ground for several minutes following the shooting, another violation of policy.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
