Officer Adam Coy, a 19-year-old veteran, shot and killed Andre Hill last week.
Columbus, Ohio, director of public security, decided to fire officer Adam Coy after Coy shot and killed Andre Hill, an unarmed black man, last week.
In a decision on Monday, Director of Public Security Ned Pettus Jr. wrote that “known facts do not establish that this use of lethal force was objectively reasonable”.
Pettus said Coy did not try to lessen the situation before shooting Hill and, after the shooting, Coy did not help or guarantee that others would.
Coy also did not activate the body camera during the service call, Pettus said.
“I applaud Security Director Ned Pettus and Chief of Police Tom Quinlan for their quick action in firing Mr. Coy for not using reasonable use of force consistent with Division policies, failing to activate his camera close to his body and not to help the dying Mr. Hill. This does not represent the values of the Columbus Police Division, “said Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther in a statement on Monday. “Now we look forward to the BCI investigation, a presentation of the evidence to a grand jury and possible federal charges from the United States Department of Justice.”
“This is the first step in our journey and the fight for justice in the unjustifiable murder of Andre Hill,” said Ben Crump, a lawyer for the Hill family, on Monday.
Coy had previously been stripped of all police powers and handed over the gun and badge, according to the Department of Public Security. Columbus police chief Thomas Quinlan asked Coy to resign last week when it was discovered that Coy did not turn on the body camera until after filming Hill.
Hill was shot on December 22 after police were sent on a “non-emergency” disturbance call from a neighbor who reportedly saw a man sitting in an SUV for a long time starting and stopping his car, according to the Columbus Department Public Security.
After Hill left a garage, with a phone in his left hand and his right obscured, Coy opened fire.
Coy then approached Hill and ordered him to show his hands and roll, before asking a colleague if doctors were called. Coy did not administer aid, according to the footage.
No weapons were found at the scene and none of the other police officers who responded had their cameras on until Hill was shot, according to investigators.
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is conducting an investigation.
Pettus’s decision came after a disciplinary hearing on Monday morning and the chief’s investigation. Coy was not in the audience; Members of the Fraternal Order of Police appeared on his behalf, said the Columbus Department of Public Security.
“The information, evidence and representations made by Chief Quinlan as an investigator are, in my opinion, indisputable. His disciplinary recommendation is well-founded and appropriate,” Pettus said in a statement on Monday.
Meredith Deliso and Andy Fies of ABC News contributed to this report.