Columbus, Ohio, officials release police video of fatal shooting of Black man with cellphone in hand
The incident comes weeks after another Black man was shot in the area
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Officials in Columbus, Ohio released police body camera footage that shows the fatal shooting of a 47-year-old man holding a cell phone, the second shooting in the area of a Black man by authorities this month.
The video shows the deadly encounter between police and Andre Hill, who was shot seconds after an officer found him emerging from a garage early Tuesday morning. Police initially responded to the area around 1:30 a.m. after reports of someone in a car repeatedly turning it on and off.
The footage shows Columbus police officer Adam Coy walking up to an open garage and shining a flashlight on Hill, who is seen holding a cellphone in his left hand. His right hand appears to be in his pocket.
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No audio is available for the first minute of the video because Coy did not activate his camera until after the shooting. The department uses cameras equipped with a "look back" feature that offers video but no audio for 60 seconds before activation.
No weapon was recovered from the scene. The city said Hill was visiting someone at the time he was shot.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Coy apparently already had shot Hill when he activated the audio on his camera. He is heard yelling at Hill, who is wounded and lying on the garage floor, to put his "hands off to the side! Hands out to the side now!"
A few seconds later, Coy yells at Hill, "Roll to your stomach now," and then: "Get your hand up from underneath you, now!"
Hill later died at a hospital. Coy, a 19-year department veteran, was relieved of duty, a common practice when an officer is involved in a shooting.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Mayor Andrew Ginther expressed concern that Coy didn't activate his body camera immediately and has called for his termination.
"I am also very disturbed about what I don't see next in the body-worn camera footage," Ginther said. "From what we can see, none of the officers initially at the scene provide medical assistance to Mr. Hill. No compression on the wounds to stop the bleeding. No attempts at CPR. Not even a hand on the shoulder and an encouraging word that medics were in route."
Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther calls for the firing of a police officer seen on bodycam video shooting a Black man who was holding a cell phone, at a news conference on Wednesday in Columbus, Ohio. Ginther said the officer violated departmental policies by not turning on his camera's full audio and video functions and not helping the victim of the shooting as he lay wounded on the floor of the garage where he was shot. (AP Photo/Andrew Welsh-Huggins)
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is investigating Hill's death. The U.S. attorney in Columbus agreed to review the case for possible federal civil rights violations once the state completes its investigation.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A review of Coy’s personnel file shows more than three dozen complaints have been filed against him since he joined the department in January 2002, mostly for rude or abusive language with a dozen for use of force.
The shooting comes weeks after a Franklin County Sheriff's deputy fatally shot Casey Goodson, 23, in the doorway of his grandmother's Columbus home as he walked through the front door.
Hundreds of marchers gather in downtown Columbus to protest the Dec. 4 fatal shooting of Casey Goodson Jr., who was Black, by a white Ohio sheriff's deputy. (AP Photo/Andrew Welsh-Huggins)
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The case sparked a federal civil rights investigation as well. The shooting prompted days of protests in Columbus.
The officer involved, Jason Meade, a 17-year veteran of the sheriff’s office assigned to a U.S. Marshals Office fugitive task force, remains on administrative leave.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.