*Columbus, Ohio Mayor Andrew Ginther on Wednesday afternoon angrily called for the termination of the police officer who shot and killed a 47-year-old unarmed Black man, allowed him to lay on the ground for several minutes without anyone rendering aid – a violation of police policy – and turned on his body camera only after the deadly encounter took place.
However, the body cameras have a 60-second “look-back” feature that captures video, but not audio. This look-back recorded the shooting, indicating the officers turned the cameras on within 60 seconds of the shooting taking place.
Footage of the killing was released Wednesday. It all started when a neighbor called police complaining of someone in a garage repeatedly starting and turning off an SUV engine for an extended period of time. Officers were dispatched to the “non-emergency” call on the city’s Northwest Side at 1:37 a.m. When officers arrived on the scene, they found a home’s garage door open and a man, later identified as Andre Maurice Hill, inside. He was visiting someone at the home. He walked toward officers with a cellphone in his left hand and his right hand not visible. Officer Adam Coy fired his weapon, striking Hill, then stood back and watched as he lay on the cement floor moaning without any of the officers rendering aid. Hill later died at OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital. A weapon was not recovered at the scene.
Watch Coy’s “look back” bodycam footage of the deadly shooting below (viewer discretion advised):
“He was an expected guest. He was not an intruder,” Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said of Hill during a press conference. “It is simply an unexplainable loss. None of the officers initially at the scene provided medical assistance, no compression on the wounds to stop the bleeding, no attempts of CPR, not even a hand on the shoulder or an encouraging word that medics were en route. It’s an officer’s duty to render aid.”
Because this was a non-emergency call, run lights and sirens were not engaged as officers arrived. As a result, the dash camera in the police cruiser was also not activated for any part of the encounter.
The shooting on Oberlin Drive occurred nearly three weeks after law enforcement fatally shot 23-year-old Black man Casey Goodson as he entered his grandmother’s home. He was laid to rest on Wednesday. The investigation into his death continues.
“Enough is enough. This community is exhausted. The African-American community is fearful and concerned and outraged. This is a stunning disregard for life,” Ginther said.
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is investigating.
Watch Mayor Ginther’s reaction to the shooting and call for Coy’s firing below:
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