Columbus police cannot defend newly released body recordings over the shooting death of Ohio gunman Andre Hill, which shows officers have delays in providing medical assistance to Hill after the shooting. The death of Hill, a 47-year-old Black man, by police officer Adam Coy has sparked national outrage.
“Andre Hill should be alive today,” Police Chief Thomas Quinlan said in a video statement Thursday. “A Columbus police officer is responsible for his death. I can not defend it, I can not correct it, but I will do what I can.”
The recently released body camera footage shows the fatal shooting of Hill, who was a guest at the residence police. Around 1:30 a.m., the video shows Hill inside a garage, with a cell phone in his hand in the direction of Coy, illuminating the screen and making it visible. Within seconds, Coy shoots down his weapons and Hill falls while Coy continues to ask Hill to show his hands.
Coy did not turn on his body camera as he got out of his vehicle and approached Hill, a clear violation of police policy. After the shooting, he turned it on, which activated a 60-second “look back” feature and recorded the recording without sound.
While the footage matches the police accounts of the shooting, it also appears that Hill did not receive medical aid at least 5 minutes after the shooting. The chief of police said Columbus police are also investigating whether any of the numerous officers at the scene followed the protocol.
Hill was transported to the hospital when medical aid arrived there, where he succumbed to his wounds. A preliminary autopsy report released by the coroner in Franklin County lists the cause of death as a homicide. No medical report stated whether help could save Hill’s life immediately after the shooting.
This news of additional investigations comes after the termination of Coy on the recommendation of the police chief. Coy was fired without trial for his “use of lethal force, his failure to activate his body camera and his failure to assist Hill.”
Coy’s dismissal was called a ‘correct decision’ by Benjamin Crump, the Hill family’s lawyer, who also called for a redefinition of the relationship between police and color communities. “The unbridled police mentality of first shooting and later asking questions when it comes to a black person is irrefutable proof that Black lives do not matter to too many law enforcers,” Crump said.
“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,” Ned Pettus Jr., Columbus Security Director, said in a statement last week. .
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is investigating the shooting, which took place several weeks after the Dec. 23 shooting at 23-year-old Columbus resident Casey Goodson Jr.
The police chief quoted the large number of body recordings and interviews to search the reason in delayed announcements, but said the police were working hard.
“As a police chief and just as a human being, the events of last week shook me and left me sad for the family of Andre Hill,” Quinlan said. “You will have the answers you demand and deserve.”