The police chief said that “few” officers provided assistance before the medics arrived, and the mayor said that he was “stunned” by the time before any officer wanted to provide assistance.
Both promise liability as a result of a thorough investigation after dozens of investigative materials – including video from the body camera – were released by the department on Thursday.
Chief Thomas Quinlan said responding officers did not use lethal force, but that some of them provided first aid to Mr. Hill granted while they waited for a doctor. ‘
Mayor Andrew J. Ginther expressed the sentiment of the chief in a statement, saying: ‘I am appalled at the time that has elapsed before any officer assisted Mr. Hill granted. ‘
“Our officers are trained to provide life-saving, and at least comfort, in these situations,” he said.
Both say one of the core values of the Columbus division of police is ‘compassion’, and little or nothing of it is displayed as can be seen from the video.
Hill’s family and their lawyer said the body’s footage was further evidence that his death was “unnecessary and unjustifiable”.
Ginther said he had ordered the chief to “fully and thoroughly investigate the events of December 22 and hold all officers who do not uphold the standards of the department accountable.”
“We are investigating to determine who maintained the policies and standards of the Columbus Police Department, and who did not,” Quinlan said. He noted that a large amount of video reviews and interviews are part of the process.
CNN contacted Coy’s attorney Thursday for comment on the criticism from the mayor and police chief.
Coy’s body camera did not capture audio because he only activated it after the recording. But a look-back feature recorded 60 seconds of video without audio before Coy turned on his camera.
Coy and the other officer were sent to a riot to “constantly recharge a gray SUV” and encountered Hill in a garage. Both of their guns were drawn and approached diagonally from either side, according to her interview.
Coy asked Hill to go out to the garage and Hill did not answer verbally but started walking out of the garage.
Hill’s left hand held a cellphone, but his right hand was ‘hidden behind his leg’. According to released records, Hill apparently dropped his left hand before Coy shot him, but it is not clear from the video of Coy what happened.
Quinlan said he had recently tightened the policy on body-worn cameras and the duty to provide first aid.
“As chief of police, and only as a human being, the events of the past week have shaken me and left me sad for the family of Andre Hill,” Quinlan said. “I will not tolerate a repeat of these failures. And where officials have failed, they will be held accountable. ‘
Family criticizes police response after video was released
Advocate Ben Crump addressed reporters after releasing the footage of the body and praised the city for its efforts at transparency, but asked, “Where is humanity for Andre Hill?”
“What is Andre Hill’s crime?” Crump said. “Is it because he’s a black man, and for whatever reason, the police in America shoot first and ask questions later?”
His family also reacted to the footage, saying it was horrible to watch.
“No one had any kind of human emotion or sympathy for this dying man who was gasping for his last breath,” said Alvin Williams, Hill’s younger brother. ‘And then you keep him worse than an animal in the cage. Not just for Columbus, Ohio, I say this to all the police in this country. Your hunting season is over. ‘
The family also stressed that they want to work to make sure something like this does not happen again.
“We need to change,” Michelle Hairston said. “Because no one has to keep it going. We don’t have to go through it over and over again. We need something to happen.”
Crump also said Clarissa Hill, Andre Hill’s daughter, is interested in working on legislation to force officers to turn on or fire their body cameras.
The family described Hill as a friendly man with various interests, including chess, cooking and helping his family with projects in the home.
CNN’s Peter Nickeas and Sonia Moghe contributed to this report.