Body camera footage shows Ohio cop shot Black man within seconds of encounter

The Columbus Police Department on Wednesday released the body camera footage of the fatal shooting of a 47-year-old Black man in which an officer shot the victim within seconds of the encounter.

Footage of the encounter published by WOSU Public Media shows the officer, identified as Adam Coy, shoot Andre Maurice Hill early Tuesday morning.

The incident comes weeks after a local county sheriff’s deputy, Jason Meade, fatally shot 23-year-old Casey Goodson Jr., whose death sparked protests across the city.

The Columbus Department of Public Safety said Tuesday that Coy’s body camera was not fully activated, meaning there’s no audio for the first 60 seconds of the encounter.

However, Coy can be seen with another officer approaching Hill’s garage. About 47 seconds into the video, Hill can be seen walking out of his garage with a phone in one hand, and his right hand is not visible.

Coy appears to shoot Hill just seconds later, and Hill can be seen falling to the ground.

When audio picks up immediately after, Coy can be heard breathing heavily. “Put your f—ing hands out to the side,” he says to Hill, who appears motionless on the ground. “Hands out to the side now! Roll to your stomach now!”

Coy then asks if medics are coming and approaches Hill and rolls him over. The footage from the news outlet shows an officer beginning to administer first aid six minutes later. 

Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther (D) called for Coy’s “immediate termination.”

“Columbus Division of Police’s core values are integrity, passion, accountability, respect and excellence. But [from] the body-worn camera footage we’ve seen, these values were absent and not on display while Mr. Hill laid dying,” he said in a statement.

The officer was relieved of duty on Tuesday, meaning he turned in his gun and badge and was stripped of all police powers pending a criminal and internal investigation.

David DeVillers, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, said in a statement on Wednesday that his office is investigating the incident for any federal civil rights violations after the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations concludes its investigation. 

He added that he would then consult with the Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office on “how to proceed at the conclusion of our review.”

DeVillers is currently reviewing Goodson’s shooting.