COLUMBUS — The white Columbus police officer seen on bodycam video fatally shooting Andre Hill last week was fired Monday.
Columbus public safety director Ned Pettus says officer Adam Coy was fired hours after a hearing was held to determine his employment.
Hill’s family issued a statement through civil rights attorney Ben Crump calling the decision to fire Coy the correct one.
“We need to redefine a relationship between police and communities of color in which it doesn’t turn deadly for a Black person with a cell p[hone to encounter a law enforcement officer,” Crump said.
“I am upholding Chief Quinlan’s recommendation to terminate Mr. Coy,” Pettus said in a statement. “The actions of Adam Coy do not live up to the oath of a Columbus Police officer, or the standards we, and the community, demand of our officers.”
“When I became chief, I changed our core values to include accountability. This is what accountability looks like,” Chief Thomas Quinlan said.
The decision came after Pettus concluded a hearing to determine whether Coy’s actions in the moments before and after the fatal shooting of Andre Hill on Dec. 22 were justified. Bodycam footage showed him fatally shooting the 47-year-old Hill, a Black man holding a cellphone, and failing to administer first aid for several minutes.
“I applaud Safety Director Ned Pettus and Police Chief Tom Quinlan for their swift action in firing Mr. Coy for not using reasonable use of force consistent with Division policies, not activating his body-worn camera and not rendering aid to a dying Mr. Hill. This does not represent the values of the Columbus Division of Police.” -Mayor Andrew Ginther (D-Columbus)
Coy was provided an opportunity to be heard by the Director who will ultimately make the decision regarding his continued employment. Members of the Fraternal Order of Police attended the hearing on behalf of Officer Coy, who was not in attendance.
Coy remains under criminal investigation for the shooting.