Jury trial to begin in murder case of ex-Columbus police officer who shot and killed unarmed man

COLUMBUS, OH (WCMH) – The fate of a former Columbus police officer fatally shot by an unarmed hand in December 2020 is now in the hands of a Franklin County jury.

The discussion is scheduled to begin on Thursday at the trial of Adam Coy48-year-old, who is charged with murder, negligent homicide and felonious assault in the death of 47-year-old Andre Hill. If convicted of murder — the most serious charge — Koya could face a maximum sentence of life in prison. A jury could convict Coy of any combination of charges or none.

Judge Stephen McIntosh said Wednesday after closing arguments that the jury will be heard according to the schedule he set. NBC4 will broadcast the sentencing when it happens.

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Police use-of-force trials use a different standard than typical homicide trials. Jurors will not have to determine whether Coy killed Hill, but rather whether Coy’s use of force was “objectively reasonable” for a police officer based on the knowledge he had at the time, without the use of hindsight.

On December 22, 2020, at approximately 1:50 a.m., Coy shot Hill four times while responding to a non-emergency call of a suspicious vehicle on the northwest side of Columbus. Coy shot Hill after he started to walk out of the garage at Coy’s request, holding an illuminated phone screen in his left hand and his right hand at his side, indistinctly visible through a parked car.

While several officers began arriving on the scene about five minutes after the shooting, it was 10 minutes before Hill, who was later unarmed, received any medical attention. He later died in hospital.

About a week after the shooting, Coy was dismissed from the service. In the months that followed, the city enacted Andre’s Law, which required officers to provide medical assistance to shooting victims. Additionally, the city reached a $10 million settlement with Hill’s family in a civil suit that involved renaming the community center in Teakwood.

In February 2021, Coy was charged with murder and aggravated assault, before being charged with reckless homicide in April. In the following years Koy’s trial was postponed three times through the fight against Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

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Jury the selection began on October 21almost four years after the filming.

For opening wordsAssistant U.S. Attorney Renee Amlin said Coy and Hill had been communicating before the shooting, details that had not been previously released. When Coy arrived at the scene, he approached Hill’s vehicle, which was parked outside. Hill showed Coy a message on his phone and said he was waiting for a meeting. Defense attorney Caitlin Stevens, in her opening statement, described Hill as “wide-eyed and nervous” during the conversation.

Amy Detweilerthe officer who was the only witness to the shooting testified that she never saw the gun or observed Hill make a death threat. The state also called other police officers who responded.

Among the defense witnesses was Koi himself. After speaking with Hill in his vehicle, he testified that he saw Hill walk up to a nearby house and “knock” on the front door without answering. Coy said Hill went back to his car and retrieved something. Hill started walking toward the house again when Coy asked him what was going on, but Coy said Hill did not respond and continued to stare at him.

Coy said that when he approached the house, he saw a flicker of light from inside the dark garage. He pulled out a flashlight and saw Hill “squatting” in the back corner, facing the house. Coy said he ordered Hill to “show himself,” claiming he had no weapon. Detweiler, however, said she believed they were both armed when they decided to go to the garage.

Coy said that when Hill approached him, he could not see Hill’s right side. As Hill approached, Coy testified that he thought he saw a silver revolver in his right hand and thought he was going to die. Coy said that’s when he drew his gun and fired.

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Narrating the events, he was visibly moved and cried. Coy said as soon as he saw that it was a bunch of keys in Hill’s hand and not a gun, he knew he had made a mistake and was horrified. He described the early morning hours of the shooting as “the worst night of (his) life.”

The defense also appealed two law enforcement expertswho testified that Coy acted in accordance with national law enforcement standards. Both witnesses said Coy had a duty to investigate the situation given Hill’s previous “suspicious” behavior and that officers are trained to respond to a perceived threat of death with deadly force.

The last witness was a police expert called by the state to refute it. He testified that despite Coy’s suspicions, there was insufficient evidence that a serious crime was about to occur. The witness also testified that deadly force by an officer is appropriate only when a person poses an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury to another person, and that Hill could not reasonably be perceived as having the ability or intent to do so at the time. he was shot.

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