FILE - This image from video provided by WSYX/WTTE shows former Columbus police officer Adam Coy, who is accused of fatally shooting Andre Hill, a Black man who was holding a cell phone and keys, during his trial, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024, in Columbus, Ohio. (WSYX/WTTE via AP, File)
Ex-officer who mistook a Black man’s keys and phone for a gun gets 15 years to life for murder
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A former Ohio police officer convicted of murder in the shooting of Andre Hill, a Black man who was holding a cellphone and keys when he was killed, was given a mandatory sentence Monday of 15 years to life.
FILE - This image from video provided by WSYX/WTTE shows former Columbus police officer Adam Coy, who is accused of fatally shooting Andre Hill, a Black man who was holding a cell phone and keys, during his trial, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024, in Columbus, Ohio. (WSYX/WTTE via AP, File)
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A former Ohio police officer convicted of murder in the shooting of Andre Hill, a Black man who was holding a cellphone and keys when he was killed, was given a mandatory sentence Monday of 15 years to life.
Former Columbus officer Adam Coy shot Hill four times in a garage in December 2020, as the country a series of police killings of Black men, women and children. He told jurors that he feared for his life because he thought Hill was holding a silver revolver.
Coy, who is being treated for Hodgkin lymphoma, told the court Monday he plans to appeal
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“I feel my actions were justified,†Coy said. “I reacted the same way I had in hundreds of training scenarios. I drew and fired my weapon to stop a threat, protect myself and my partner.”
Prosecutors said Hill followed police commands and was never a threat to Coy.
In victim impact statements Monday, Hill’s sisters and ex-wife described the 47-year-old as a gentle man who had never met a stranger. His grandchildren called him “Big Daddy.”
Police body camera footage showed Hill coming out of the garage of a friend’s house holding up a cellphone in his left hand, his right hand not visible, seconds before he was fatally shot. Almost 10 minutes passed before officers at the scene rendered aid.
Coy, who was fired afterward, had a lengthy history of citizen complaints, although most were declared unfounded. Weeks later, the mayor after a series of fatal police shootings of Black people.
Columbus later reached a with Hill’s family, and the city passed a law requiring police to give immediate medical attention to injured suspects.
