(Update, December 24, 2020) Horrifying video footage of Columbus, Ohio officer Adam Coy shooting 47-year-old Andre Maurice Hill has been released, showing the moments before and after the incident, according to ABC News.

In the video, which has no sound at the beginning because Coy did not turn on his bodycam, Hill approaches the officer with his phone raised. But before he can say anything, Coy opens fire, shooting him in the chest. 

While Hill lies on the ground bleeding, Coy screams from a distance demanding he show him his hands. Eventually Coy walks over and turns Hill’s limp body over, but it is unclear if Hill was unconscious.

As other officers arrived at the scene, video shows Coy simply standing by, not performing any life saving maneuvers as Hill bled. Other officers also came by and did not help Hill, instead handcuffing him.

Hill, who was unarmed, eventually died about an hour later at OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital, according to The Washington Post. 


"From what we can see, none of the officers initially at the scene provided medical assistance to Mr. Hill. No compression on the wounds to stop the bleeding. No attempts at CPR. Not even a hand on the shoulder and an encouraging word that medics were in route," Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said. 

"To see him lying in the driveway, minute after minute after minute, with no attempt to render aid and comfort. … I've never seen body-worn camera footage like that."

The City of Columbus announced on Wednesday that Coy had been fired after initially reporting that he was on paid leave pending an investigation into the shooting. But Ginther dodged questions about potential consequences for the other officers on the scene who did not help Hill as he bled, according to WOSU.

The shooting has alarmed a community that is still incensed over the killing of 23-year-old Casey C. Goodson Jr, who was shot to death by an officer while walking into his home just weeks ago, as Blavity previously reported. 

Ginther has apologized for the shooting and the police chief called it a ”tragedy.” Hill’s death was the result of a non-emergency noise complaint. 

Local news outlet WSYX/WTTE spoke with the man who called 911, Bob Ronker, who said someone was turning a car engine off and on, so he felt it was necessary to call the police. 

"There was a car parked out all night long running. And I was kinda concerned about that. You don’t have things like that in this neighborhood," Ronker said. 

Congresswoman Joyce Beatty told WSYX/WTTE that the shooting was “unacceptable” and that she stood with the community in seeking some form of justice for Hill. 

“There are not enough words to express the pain and anger I feel that another Black man has been killed in our community at the hands of law enforcement in less than a month. While we do not know all of the facts, what I do know is that this is unacceptable,” she said. “I am greatly concerned and call into question police procedures as well as the timing and inconsistent use of body cameras.”

WOSU reported that the Columbus Police released Coy’s administrative record, showing that he had a long history of complaints about his conduct and penchant for violence. 

In the 69-page document, there are dozens of civilian complaints, allegations and documents showing internal investigations into accusations that he used foul language, unnecessary force and abused prisoners. In 2003, he had nine separate complaints. 

The news outlet noted that the city voted out Republican Franklin County prosecutor Ron O'Brien in November, replacing him with Democrat Gary Tyack. According to WOSU, O'Brien had never indicted a white officer for a civilian shooting throughout his 24 years in office. 

Hill’s family has hired noted civil rights attorney Ben Crump to represent them. On Facebook, Hill’s sister, Shawna Barnett, passionately wrote about the pain she feels now that her brother is gone. 

“My brother was snatched away from me, our family. I'm deeply hurt and in pain at the moment and will be able to speak soon…but not at the moment. We need time to process what has happened to my brother, my only brother, that I cannot laugh with again, call on the phone, see him smile, hear him talk endlessly, and be there for me when I needed him,” Barnett wrote. 

“Now I and my family will be there for him (and other murdered victims) to take up this plight that our culture has painfully endured for years. The violence against us…This has to stop right NOW,” she added.

(Original Story, December 23, 2020) Columbus, Ohio Mayor Andrew J. Ginther has requested that an officer be relieved from duty for fatally shooting an unarmed Black man while responding to a call on Tuesday.

According to The Columbus Dispatch, a resident of the city’s northwest side called police early Tuesday morning over suspicions about a man turning the engine of an SUV on and off for a considerable amount of time. When officers responded to the call, they found a man inside of a garage.

Police said the man "walked toward the officer with a cell phone in his left hand. His right hand was not visible."

Though the man was not armed, one officer fired his gun at the 47-year-old. He later died from his injury at OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the man's name had not yet been revealed as the official word of his death is communicated to his family. The Dispatch reports Columbus police officers involved in shootings are not identified for a minimum of 24 hours following the incident in accordance with department policy.

Police officials stated that the officers present during the incident did not turn on their body cameras until just after the shooting. However, the body cam feed started recording 60 seconds prior to being manually activated and was able to capture a portion of the encounter.

"Neither officer at the scene activated their body-worn cameras until immediately after the shooting. Because of a 60-second 'look back' function of the cameras, the shooting itself was captured on video," the city’s release read. "However, the function does not record audio during that 60-second 'look-back' window, so there is no audio of the communications (between the victim and the officers) immediately preceding or during the actual shooting."

City officials also said that the video shows a delay in the first-aid assistance given to the man, The Dispatch reported.

"The city works hard to provide police with the tools officers need to protect themselves and the public," Ginther said. "So let me be clear: If you’re not going to turn on your body-worn camera, you can not protect and serve the people of Columbus. I have asked Chief Quinlan to remove the officer from duty and turn in his badge and gun.”

The officer responsible for shooting the man has been placed on administrative leave while an investigation has been launched into the matter. According to The Dispatch, the police officer will not be allowed to return to work until he has been cleared by a private psychologist.

The mayor said he was greatly disturbed that none of the responding officers turned on their body cameras until after their peer fired his weapon.

"It is unacceptable to me and the community that officers did not turn on their cameras," he said, mentioning the $5 million investment the city made into the body cam program. "If you won't turn on your body camera, you cannot work in our city."

According to public radio station WOSU, the existing body camera footage is expected to be released to the public on Wednesday, after the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) concludes their interviews of the involved parties. Police said there is also no dash camera video available from inside the patrol car because officers were responding to a non-emergency call.

In his statement, Columbus police chief Thomas Quinlan admitted the incident was a “tragedy on many levels,” and that the focus should be on the life that has been lost going forward.

The police chief also said in the statement that he is "troubled by the preliminary facts" in regards to the shooting.

“The Division invested millions of dollars in these cameras for the express purpose of creating a video and audio record of these kinds of encounters," Quinlan said. "They provide transparency and accountability, and protect the public, as well as officers when the facts are in question.”

The Dispatch reports that Ginther has requested David DeVillers, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, to review the case to evaluate if any of the man’s civil rights were violated during the encounter.

The shooting comes as the community continues to reel over the fatal shooting of 23-year-old Casey Goodson Jr.

Earlier this month, a Franklin County sheriff’s deputy shot Goodson. The shooting prompted community unrest and calls for justice, according to CNN. Goodson's Dec. 4 shooting is being investigated by DeVillers' office, as well as the FBI and the Justice Department in an independent review, as Blavity previously reported. 

Goodson's mother said her son was shot while he tried to enter his home after leaving a dentist appointment and restaurant run to get sandwiches for his young brother and grandmother. The family members found Goodson lying on the ground outside the home, CNN reported.

According to WOSU, deputies were not equipped with body cameras at the time of Goodson's shooting. The 23-year-old's family has argued against the police account of the events in the case as neither recordings nor witnesses of the shooting can confirm their retelling. Peter Tobin, U.S. Marshal for the Southern District of Ohio, said this month that the deputy was concluding a separate case when he saw a man wantonly "waving a gun," per CNN. Allegedly, the man drew his firearm on the officer before the officer gunned him down. 

Following the shooting of Goodson, a memorandum of understanding was reached this summer indicating that the BCI will conduct an independent investigation of all officer-involved shootings utilizing deadly force by local police officers, WOSU reported.

"We know that BCI will conduct a thorough, independent investigation. We promise that we will provide as much transparency as possible on our part, both with investigators and the public. Our community deserves the facts. If evidence determines that laws or policies were violated, officers will be held accountable," Quinlan said in his statement. 

The Columbus mayor offered his support to the community and acknowledged their pain and loss.

"We are still raw from the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and less than three weeks ago, Casey Goodson Jr.," Ginther tweeted Tuesday.

"The community is exhausted," he said.

Casey-Goodson-Jr.Columbus-Police-DepartmentDavid-DeVillersMayor-Andrew-GintherThomas-Quinlan