Body camera footage shows a black man emerging from a garage and holding a cell phone in his left hand seconds before being killed by a Columbus police officer.
About six seconds pass between the time when Andre Hill, 47, is visible in the video, and when the police officer fires his gun. There is no audio because the police officer did not activate the body camera, but an automatic “look back” feature captured the shooting on Tuesday morning.
With no audio, it is unclear whether the policeman, identified as Adam Coy, shouts a command to Hill, whose right hand is not visible in the video. Authorities say no weapons have been recovered from the scene. The city said Hill was visiting someone at the time.
Hill lay on the garage floor for several minutes without a police officer coming to his aid. This violated policy that requires police officers to help the wounded, Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said on Wednesday calling for Coy to be fired.
Coy also violated departmental policies that required all video and audio functions on his camera to be activated, Ginther said.
Columbus police values, including integrity, compassion and responsibility “were absent and were not displayed while Hill was dying,” said Ginther, a Democrat.
After Coy turns on the audio, he is heard using a bad word while yelling at Hill, now lying on the garage floor, to put his “hands to the side! Hands to the side now! “
A few seconds later, Coy yells at Hill: “Roll over in your stomach now” and then “Get your hand off you now!”
Coy then asks a dispatcher, “We have a doctor coming,” and yells, “Don’t move, man!” to Hill while he is lying on his side, groaning.
Hill died less than an hour later in a hospital.
Ginther and police chief Thomas Quinlan expressed anger that Coy had not activated his body camera beforehand. The 60-second retrospective feature caught the shot.
Police officers must activate their body cameras as soon as they are dispatched for a serious incident, such as a shootout, theft or theft, according to department policy.
In addition, police officers must turn on the cameras “at the beginning of a coercive action or at the first reasonable opportunity to do so,” according to the policy.
Although Coy was sent on a non-emergency call, it became a coercive action when the officer interacted with Hill because it was separated from the original call, said police department spokesman James Fuqua.
“So the camera for politics should have been activated,” he said.
Coy, a 17-year-old force member, was released from office, ordered to return his gun and badge, and stripped of police powers pending the outcome of the investigations. For the union contract the manager will still be paid.
Relieving a service officer is common in Columbus after a shooting.
“In this case, the chief of police has directly observed what he believes to be possible critical misconduct and is taking action to relieve duty until a disciplinary investigation can be completed,” said Glenn McEntyre, a spokesman for the security department. city, which oversees the police.
Ned Pettus Jr, the city’s public security director, on Wednesday promised “a fair and impartial hearing” for Coy.
The officers responded to a neighbor’s non-emergency call at 1:26 am about a working car in front of his house, then he was turned off and on again, according to a copy of the call released on Wednesday. Ginther said it was not clear whether that car had anything to do with Hill.
Republican Attorney General Dave Yost promised on Wednesday a “complete, independent and specialized investigation” of the shooting.
“What we have now is an incomplete record. We must allow the registration to be completed and the evidence to be gathered, ”said Yost. “Only the truth – the whole truth and nothing else – will result in justice.”
In May, the murder of George Floyd by a white policeman sparked waves of protests in the United States and around the world.