According to an Ohio coroner, the murder of Andre Hill, an unarmed black man, in Columbus last week is a murder.
The office of the coroner in Franklin County announced the decision in a brief statement Monday, saying the preliminary investigation shows that Hill, 47, succumbed to multiple gunshot wounds.
Camera footage shows Hill stepping out of an open garage door and holding up his cellphone as two Columbus police officers approach him on Dec. 22 shortly after 1:30 p.m. Hill.
Officers responded to an emergency call about a man who “sat in an SUV for a long time and repeatedly turned the vehicle on and off,” according to the city’s public safety department. It is unclear whether Hill was the man described in the call. He was presumably visiting someone at home when he was killed.
“The death of Andre Hill is another tragic example of the tendency of the police to view black people as criminal or dangerous, and it points to the need for comprehensive, national police reform,” said Hill’s lawyer Ben Crump. tweeted after the announcement of the coroner. “The family wants to review all the body recordings as soon as possible.”
Earlier Monday, Ned Pettus Jr., the director of public safety, disciplinary hearing held for Coy, who is still being released from service pending a decision on his service. The trial was called after Columbus Police Chief Thomas Quinlan recommended that he be fired.
“I have seen everything I need to see to the conclusion that Officer Coy should be terminated immediately,” Quinlan said in a Dec. 24 statement.
The city’s public safety department said in a statement on Monday that Pettus would make a quick decision on Coy’s service. The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is investigating whether Coy will face criminal charges.
The incident is the second time in weeks that police have killed a black man in Columbus. On December 4, Casey Goodson Jr. (23) fatally shot with no body material or witnesses outside the sheriff’s deputy who fired his gun.