COLUMBUS, Ohio – A white former Ohio police officer has gone on trial Monday in the killing of Andre Hill, a Black man who was shot as he emerged from a garage holding a cellphone nearly four years ago.
Officer Adam Coy, a 17-year veteran of the Columbus police force, fatally shot Hill while responding to a neighbor's noise complaint. Coy, who was fired after the Dec. 22, 2020, shooting, has pleaded not guilty to murder, reckless homicide and related offenses. Coy's attorney, Mark Collins, has said the officer thought he saw Hill with a silver revolver in his right hand.
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Jury selection in his trial began Monday.
Coy had gone to the neighborhood to investigate a resident's complaint about noise from a running car when he encountered Hill.
Police body camera footage showed Hill emerging from 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 by Coy. About 10 minutes passed before officers at the scene began coming to the aid of Hill, who lay bleeding on the garage floor. He was pronounced dead at a hospital.
Weeks after the shooting, the mayor forced out the police chief amid a series of high-profile fatal police shootings of Black men and children. Columbus later reached a $10 million settlement with Hill’s family, the largest in city history. Columbus City Council also passed Andre’s Law, which requires police officers to render immediate medical attention to an injured suspect.
Coy had a lengthy history of complaints from residents, with more than three dozen filed against him since he joined the department in 2002, according to his personnel file. A dozen of the complaints were for use of force. All but a few were marked “unfounded” or “not sustained.”
Coy's legal team tried unsuccessfully to have the case moved out of Columbus, citing heavy publicity. A message was left for Collins, the defense lawyer, ahead of the trial.
Hill, a father and grandfather, was remembered for his devotion to family and as a skilled chef and restaurant manager who dreamed of owning his own eatery.