Adam Coe Sentencing: Ex-Columbus Police Officer Convicted of Andre Hill’s 2020 Murder

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A jury on Monday found former police officer Adam Coy guilty of murder in 2020. fatal shooting Andre Hill, a 47-year-old unarmed black man, was shot four times after the defendant ordered him out of a darkened garage, holding a cell phone and a large bunch of keys.

The jury in the high-profile Franklin County District Court case returned its verdict after deliberating for about two and a half days.

In addition to murder, the jury also found Coy guilty of aggravated assault and reckless homicide.

“This verdict provides some justice for Andre Hill’s family, who have waited nearly four years to see criminal justice for his tragic and unnecessary death,” National Civil Rights Attorney Benjamin Crump, who is representing Hill’s family, said in a statement. “Andre was an unarmed, innocent man, and his life was taken in defiance of his duty to protect and serve. Today’s verdict underscores that no one is above the law, including those sworn to uphold it.”

Crump added, “We hope these verdicts bring some healing to the Gill family and send a powerful message: accountability in law enforcement is not optional.”

During the trial, Coy claimed he feared for his life when he mistakenly believed Hill was pointing a silver revolver at him as he was leaving the garage on December 22, 2020. But the silver revolver Coy testified he believed Hill was holding in his right hand turned out to be a bunch of silver keys.

“I thought I was going to die,” an emotional Coy, a former member of the Columbus Police Department, testified last week.

Koya faces life imprisonment without parole. His sentence should be announced on November 25.

After the verdict was announced just after noon local time, Judge Stephen L. McIntosh revoked Coy’s $1 million bond, and Coy was immediately taken into custody by court officers who led him out of the courtroom.

Coy was fired from the Columbus Police Department about a week after the shooting.

About a month after the shooting, Coy was arrested and charged with Hill’s murder.

Coy didn’t turn on the body-worn camera until after shooting Hill, but the device has a “rewind” feature that automatically activates and records 60 seconds of the episode without sound, including the shooting.

Body camera footage that was shown to jurors also showed that as Hill lay dying on the garage floor, none of the officers who responded to the incident appeared to administer first aid. The footage shows the woman coming out of the house and telling officers that Hill was a guest and that “he brought me money for Christmas. He didn’t do anything.”

The jury made its decision after hearing closing arguments on Wednesday.

During his closing remarks, Franklin County District Attorney Anthony Pearson told jurors that the evidence proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Coy’s use of deadly force was not justified by his training and national police standards.

“This case is not about someone resisting arrest where the officers lunged at him or put a knee on him or something like that and he died,” Pearson said. “This case is not about someone saying to the police, ‘I hate you.’ I’m going to shoot you.” That’s not the point. It is about a person who followed the orders of the police and was killed for it.”

Coy’s attorney, Mark Collins, criticized the state’s case, saying prosecutors failed to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt.

“Now we know that the government’s theory is somehow he (modest) shot an unarmed man and made it up after the fact,” Collins told jurors, referring to Coy’s claims of self-defense after he mistakenly believed he saw a gun in Hill’s hand. “But that’s perversion, ladies and gentlemen. These are desperate ladies and gentlemen. This is the government, ladies and gentlemen.”

Collins added: “I’m surprised they didn’t say he planted the keys.”

In May 2021, the city of Columbus agreed to a $10 million wrongful-death settlement with Hill’s family, the largest amount ever paid by the city.

The charge against Coy in February 2021 came days after the Columbus City Council also passed Andre’s Law, which was named after Hill and requires Columbus police officers to wear body cameras when responding to calls and to immediately provide first aid after using. force incident.