A former Ohio police officer who fatally shot an unarmed black man while responding to a noise complaint was indicted Wednesday on a felony murder charge, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced.
Adam Coy, a 19-year veteran of the department, also faces a felonious assault charge and two counts of dereliction of duty. His attorney, Mark Collins, said his client will plead not guilty.
Coy shot and killed Andre Hill, 47, on Dec. 22 when police were dispatched to Hill’s friend’s house with a “non emergency” disturbance call. Hill was in the garage at the time law enforcement arrived and walked toward the police with his phone in one hand. That’s when Coy opened fire.
Video of the shooting was captured on the 60-second “look back” function on his body camera because it was turned off at the time of the shooting. The feature allows for video to be recorded, but not audio.
There was no weapon recovered at the scene, and the body camera shows a delay in rendering first aid to Hill, according to the Columbus Police Department.
The two counts of dereliction of duty stem from Coy’s failure to turn on his body camera and for failing to inform his fellow officers that he suspected Hill was dangerous.
Hill died at the hospital within an hour of getting shot.
The grand jury that indicted Coy also considered a purposeful murder charge but did not indict him on that one. Coy was arrested on Wednesday at his attorney’s office, according to Yost.
In defense of his client, Collins invoked the Supreme Court ruling in Graham v. Connor that said law enforcement can resort to force if they have an “objectively reasonable” belief of a threat. He said Coy felt threatened by Hill when he mistook a silver key ring for a revolver.
Ben Crump, the lawyer representing Hill’s family, tweeted this was the “first steps to get Andre and his family JUSTICE.”
Policing has become a major issue over the last year following a number of high-profile cases in which law enforcement officers used deadly force on unarmed people. The deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbury last year resulted in nationwide protests against police brutality and racial inequality.
