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Columbus Police ‘Cannot Defend’ Recently Released Body Camera Images of Gunshot Death of Unarmed Ohio Resident Andre Hill Showing Police Delay in Providing Medical Assistance to Hill after the shooting. The death of Hill, a 47-year-old black man, at the hands of police officer Adam Coy sparked national outrage.
“Andre Hill should be alive today,” Police Chief Thomas Quinlan said in a video statement on Thursday. “A Columbus policeman is responsible for his death. I can’t defend it, I can’t fix it, but I will do what I can.
Recently released body camera footage shows the fatal shooting of Hill, who was a guest at the residence to which police responded. At around 1:30 a.m., the video shows Hill inside a garage, walking towards Coy with a cell phone in hand, the screen on and visible. Within seconds, Coy draws his guns and Hill falls as Coy continues to ask Hill to show his hands.
Coy did not have his body camera on when he got out of his vehicle and approached Hill, a clear violation of police policy. After the picture was taken, he turned it on, which activated a 60-second “rollback” function and saved the shot without audio.
While the footage matches police accounts of the shooting, it also shows Hill did not receive medical help for at least 5 minutes after the shooting. The police chief said the Columbus Police Department is also investigating whether any of the many officers at the scene followed protocol.
Hill was rushed to hospital when medical help arrived, where he died of his injuries. A preliminary autopsy report released by the Franklin County Coroner said the cause of death was homicide. No medical report has indicated whether immediate help after the shooting could have saved Hill’s life.
This news of further investigations comes after Coy was fired on the recommendation of the police chief. Coy was fired without a hearing, due to his “use of lethal force, his inability to activate his body camera, and his inability to assist Hill.”
Coy’s firing was called a “correct decision” by Benjamin Crump, the attorney for the Hill family, who also called for redefining the relationship between police and communities of color. “The frantic police mentality of shooting first and asking questions later when it comes to a black person is compelling proof that black lives don’t matter to too many police officers. law enforcement, ”Crump said.
“Adam Coy’s actions do not live up to the oath of a Columbus police officer, or the standards that we, and the community, demand of our officers,” said the Columbus director of security, Ned Pettus Jr., in a statement last week.
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is investigating the shooting, which occurred just weeks after the Dec. 4 shooting of Casey Goodson Jr., 23, a resident of Columbus.
The police chief cited the large amount of body camera footage and interviews to sift through due to the delayed announcements, but said police were working hard.
“As a police chief and as a human being, the events of the past week have left me shocked and heartbroken for the family of Andre Hill,” Quinlan said. “You will get the answers you demand and deserve.”
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