Andre Hill, the unarmed 47-year-old black man who was fatally shot by police just three days before Christmas in Columbus, Ohio, received no help for several minutes after being fatally wounded.
The footage, released Thursday, was taken in the moments after Hill was shot by former Columbus police officer Adam Coy, a 19-year veteran of the force. The footage comes from the body cameras of various officers, including Officer Amy Detweiler, who was at Coy’s during the shooting.
Coy was fired after Columbus police chief Thomas Quinlan recommended that the officer be terminated for failing to turn on his body camera before the shooting and for not providing Hill with medical assistance. Both Coy and Detweiler violated the department’s protocol by failing to turn on their body-driven cameras prior to the shooting, according to a warrant published by the Columbus Police Department.
Columbus Director of Public Safety Ned Pettus, jr., Agrees with Quinlan’s recommendation and cites ‘indisputable’ evidence in his decision after a hearing Monday.
“The actions of Adam Coy do not meet the oath of a Columbus police officer, or the standards we and the community demand of our officers,” Pettus said. “The shooting of Andre Hill is a tragedy for all who loved him, except the community and our police division.”
According to NBC4i, Detweiler, who has been running since 2011, has been re-assigned to administrative service while an internal investigation into the shooting is being conducted.
Hill was a guest of the homeowner where the shooting took place and committed no crime when Coy and Detweiler arrived on Dec. 22 at 1:30 p.m.
Neither Detweiler nor Coy turned on their cameras before the shooting. However, a look back feature on the cameras meant that it recorded 60 seconds of video before officers activated it, but it did not capture audio.
Detweiler’s camera is activated after the shooting and Hill can be seen lying on his back in the driveway. Coy tells Detweiler to get police support for him, for which she then does radio. Shortly afterwards, the recording shows Detweiler getting in her car and then taping police tape. As more police gather at the scene, an officer can be heard saying Detweiler: ‘Shackle him. He’s still moving. ‘ Two unidentified officers roll Hill on his stomach while Detweiler walks over Hill and then puts the handcuffs on his wrists.
One officer can be heard reminding the other to make sure their cameras are on.
Detweiler’s recordings also capture a woman leaving the house where the shooting took place, saying: ‘He brought me Christmas money. He did nothing. Detweiler tells the woman to enter the house and the woman enters again.
Detweiler later told another officer, “I did not shoot … I did not see what he saw.”
Previously released footage of Coy’s body-worn camera begins by showing Hill in a garage before being shot.
In the video, Hill can be seen before turning on the sound, with a phone with the brightly lit screen to Coy, while Hill appears to be slowly moving towards the officer. Hill’s other hand is not clearly visible on the video. The camera trembles as Coy pulls away from Hill, without sound, it is unclear exactly when Coy shoots and how many times Coy fires his weapon.
Although not captured on video, Detweiler told NBC News subsidiary NBC4i that she heard Coy say, “There’s a gun in his other hand! There’s a gun in his other hand!” before he shot Hill. Detweiler said she did not see a weapon, and Hill was later determined to be unarmed, NBC4i reported.
As soon as the sound does turn on, Hill lies on the ground and lies near the back of a car parked in the garage. Coy can be heard shouting, “Put your f —– g hands to the side! Hands to the side! Now! Roll to your stomach, now!” while an immobile hill can be seen on the ground.
After a few minutes, a police supervisor comes to the scene and asks if anyone is doing anything for Hill and instructs an officer to start pumping Hill’s chest. At this point, an officer finally begins to give Hill chest compressions. According to the Associate Press, about ten minutes elapsed before Hill received medical assistance.
Hill was later pronounced dead at a hospital. Coy has not been charged with any crime, but Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien has appointed Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost as special prosecutor to investigate Hill’s case.
After the footage was released, police chief Tom Quinlan said his initial reaction to watching the videos was anger and ‘deep disappointment’.
“One of the core values of the Columbus Police Department is compassion, and the camera-borne camera video released today shows little of that,” Quinlan said in the video.
Ben Crump, the lawyer for Hill’s family, put police in a tweet posted Friday.
“Andre Hill should be alive today and his death is indefensible! The unbridled police mentality of shooting first and asking questions later is irrefutable proof that Black lives do not matter to too many law enforcers,” Crump said. wrote.
