The Case Between Adam Coy and Andre Hill
On December 22, 2020, Adam Coy (at the time, Coy was a police officer of 20 years with the Columbus police force) shot an unarmed Black man named Andre Hill, age 47, 4 times, as confirmed by autopsy reports. He was shot 3 times in his right leg and 1 time in the chest, according to Columbus affiliate WSYX-TV.
Not long after this incident, attorneys for Hill discussed the evidence that the shot wounds made it obvious of the reckless behavior of Coy as the shots appeared erratic as to the unnecessary response of an unarmed man who said by prosecutors was “non-threatening,” and it appeared unnecessary to any degree that Hill needed to be shot 4 times no matter how Coy felt in that moment (said by Attorney Michael Wright). “Mr. Hill was an innocent unarmed man who suffered,” said Wright.
Following this Coy’s attorney, Mark Collins, stated, “The knowing element, to cause serious physical harm with a deadly weapon, and someone died, that’s the concept, however, police officers are trained a certain way to take an action and to stop a threat. So that kind of doesn’t make sense.” According to police protocol, “The reasonableness of the use of force should also be evaluated by considering (1) the severity of the crime at issue, (2) whether the suspect poses an immediate threat to the safety of the officers or others and (3) whether the suspect is actively resisting arrest or attempting to evade arrest by flight.” In this case, other officers claim that Coy believed he was in danger, so he acted in this way, but others argue that he was not in any danger, and it appeared to everyone else that Hill was not armed and did not argue or resist Coy in that moment to any extent.
The same month of this fatal incident, Adam Coy was fired from his position in the police force after a post-investigation finding that “his use of deadly force was not reasonable.”
Court Case Monday, November 4, 2024, and newly released information from said Court Case
On this day, Adam Coy defended himself, saying he believed Andre Hill was holding a gun, which led to him shooting him, but this “gun” he saw turned out to be Hill’s keys and phone. “I thought I was going to die,” said Coy, following with the argument that he didn’t realize what Hill was holding was keys and phone until he turned Hill’s body, which he continued with, “I knew at that point I made a mistake. I was horrified.” In an attempt to prove his regret.
It was released during this court hearing that Hill followed everything that the officer (Adam Coy) said and never appeared threateningly. Anthony Pierson the assistant persecutor of Franklin County stated, “We’re taught, ‘Do what the cops tell you to do and you can survive that encounter…That’s not what happened here.” Proving to court the overwhelming evidence that Coy’s shots were unnecessary and uncalled for as Hill did everything he could have done in this situation.
Hill’s sister Shawna Barnett also told the court, “It’s been way too long, but I’m glad it’s over…It’s time to stop. It’s time to make everything fair.” She hopes this court hearing will prove that police aggression will not be tolerated anymore at this point.
Following this other Ohio police officers expressed concern for the effects this will have on police reputation going forward as Brian Steel president of the police union in Columbus says, “Your split-second decision can now be led to murder” followed by, “It is absolutely insane…Officers are willing to die for their community, they are willing to die for this job, and they do not want to go to prison for this job.”
Despite following arguments by officers and Coy’s attorneys, the overwhelming verdict was guilty. Guilty of felonious assault and reckless homicide.
