Former Ohio officer to stand trial in 2020 in shooting death of black man

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A white, former Ohio police officer will go on trial Monday for the murder of Andre Hill, an unarmed black man who was shot nearly four years ago as he emerged from a garage with a cellphone in his hand.

Officer Adam Coy, a 17-year veteran of the Columbus Police Department, fatally shot Hill while responding to a neighbor’s noise complaint. Coy, who was fired after the Dec. 22, 2020, shooting, has pleaded not guilty to murder, reckless homicide and related offenses. Coy’s attorney, Mark Collins, has said the officer thought he saw Hill with a silver revolver in his right hand.

Jury selection for his trial begins Monday.

Coy had gone to the neighborhood to investigate a resident’s complaint about noise from a moving car when he encountered Hill.

Police body camera footage showed Hill emerging from the garage of a friend’s home with a cellphone in his left hand, his right hand not visible, seconds before he was fatally shot by Coy. About 10 minutes passed before officers arrived at the scene to help Hill’s, who lay bleeding on the garage floor. He was later pronounced dead at a hospital.

Weeks after the shooting, the mayor forced the police chief to resign amid a series of high-profile fatal police shootings of black men and children. Columbus later reached a $10 million settlement with Hill’s family, the largest in city history. The Columbus City Council also passed Andre’s Law, which requires police officers to provide immediate medical attention to an injured suspect.

Coy had a long history of complaints from residents, with more than three dozen complaints against him since he joined the department in 2002, his personnel file shows. About ten of the complaints concerned the use of violence. All but a few were classified as ‘unfounded’ or ‘unsupported’.

Coy’s legal team tried unsuccessfully to have the case moved out of Columbus, citing the heavy publicity. Before the trial, a message was left for Collins, the defense attorney.

A father and grandfather, Hill was remembered for his dedication to family and as a skilled chef and restaurant manager who dreamed of owning his own eatery.