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Andre Hill was shot dead by police while wearing a Black Lives Matter t-shirt in Columbus, Ohio. The 47-year-old Black man was carrying nothing but a mobile phone when white officer Adam Coy shot him dead on the 22nd of December.
Officer Amy Detweiler was with Coy when he shot Hill; footage from her body camera shows the victim lying on the garage floor handcuffed. A woman emerged onto the scene shouting: “He was bringing me Christmas money! He didn’t do anything.” Detweiler and Coy had been responding to a non-emergency disturbance call when they saw Hill enter the nearby garage. Detweiler recalls, "He wasn't forcibly trying to get inside. There was just … he was just in the garage. But it didn't appear that he lived there. We couldn't tell, we needed to figure out (if he lived there)."
Detweiler gave an investigative interview the day after the shooting, and said Hill posed no obvious threat. She had asked Hill to exit the garage, but had not ordered him to raise his hands. Hill complied, although his right hand remained concealed as he emerged. Coy reportedly yelled “there's a gun in his other hand, there's a gun in his other hand”, failed to warn Hill that he was going to shoot, and kept his bodycam off until he had pulled the trigger.
The family’s attorney, Benjamin Crump, said: "He was an invitee at the home, he wasn't an intruder.” He alleges Hill lay on the floor, “struggling for life for five minutes and 11 seconds”. According to bodycam footage, officers rolled the victim over onto his stomach, handcuffed him, and placed him onto his back. After several minutes, a more senior officer arrived and asked if anybody was doing “anything for him”. Another officer was then ordered to perform CPR, but Hill was later pronounced dead.
Officers have been criticised for their failure to provide immediate medical attention, despite the fact Hill “was groaning and bleeding and barely moved on the garage floor”. Detweiler’s attorney claims Columbus police receive “very minimal” first aid training, and are provided with nothing more than basic first aid kits. Lathan Lipperman explains,"Without the necessary training and medical equipment, officers - including those on-scene for this incident - cannot effectively render aid. Without the proper training, officers risk causing greater harm." He elaborated, "While officers should be held accountable for their actions or inactions, they must first be given the proper training and equipment. Any failures or criticisms due to lack of training and equipment should not be placed on the officers."
Thomas Quinlan, Columbus chief of police, issued a statement in response to Hill’s death: “As a police chief, and just as a human being, the events of the last week have left me shaken, and heartbroken for the family of Andre Hill.” He elaborated, “I will not tolerate a repeat of these failures. And where officers have failed, they will be held accountable.”
Coy has since been fired following a disciplinary hearing on Monday the 28th of December. Public Safety Director Ned Pettus Jr. explained, "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." He elaborated, "Known facts do not establish that this use of deadly force was objectively reasonable. You failed to de-escalate, and failed to render aid.” Of the ruling, Quinlan said: “This is what accountability looks like”, however Coy has not yet been charged.
Hill is described by his daughter Karissa Hill as “an everything-man”, who worked as a chef, played chess, and worked on family projects around the home. He was also a construction contractor, and hoped to open his own restaurant one day. Hill was known as “Dre” by friends, and “Big daddy” by his grandchildren. He is remembered by friend Alvon Williams as an “overachiever”.
Karissa Hill says she “doesn’t feel safe” in the city anymore, explaining: "It is just disgusting how they did my dad. These pictures that I got to look at, I got to memorise my dad on the floor for the rest of my life and how nobody helped him.” She finds it difficult to comprehend how 22 officers on the scene failed to provide medical aid, and asked “I mean, what is Andre Hill's crime? Is it because he's a Black man, and for whatever reason, police in America shoot first and ask questions later?"