An Ohio cop was fired after the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man. This comes as the second shooting in Ohio in two weeks. Ohio mayor expresses his disappointment.
What We Know:
- Last Tuesday morning, Adam Coy responded to a non-emergency call of a person turning on and off their car. Coy shot 47-year-old Andre Maurice Hill, carrying a cell phone and walking out of a garage.
- In a HuffPost report, Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther spoke at a press conference Wednesday. “Mr. Hill was known to the residents at the home,” Ginther commented on Hill. “He was expected. He was not an intruder, he had not committed any crimes.” The mayor encouraged the dismissal of officer Coy.
- Another officer accompanied Coy during the shooting, but neither had their body cameras turned on. Moments after the shooting, the cameras were turned on. The officers failed to provide first aid to Hill. As part of the camera’s function, they could capture footage 60 seconds before the cameras were on. The shooting was caught on video, but the camera recovered no audio.
- Ginther criticized the officers for their lack of concern after the shooting. “There were literally no attempts to render aid to this man who had committed no crime. That is a stunning disregard for life and, in this case, Black life. That is unacceptable,” Ginther said. “It is an officer’s duty to not only summon a medic but to render aid. … We are better than this, and we must make sure that everyone is safe.”
- Thomas Quinlan, the Columbus Police Chief, shared his disappointment with the officer’s actions. Quinlan explains the police has “invested millions of dollars in these cameras for the express purpose of creating a video and audio record of these kinds of encounters,” he said. “They provide transparency and accountability, and protect the public, as well as officers, when the facts are in question.”
- Hill’s death is the second Ohio fatal shooting of the month. About two weeks prior, deputy Jason Meade shot 23-year-old Casey Goodson. Goodson was shot walking home with Subway sandwiches in hand for his family. He had his keys in the door as he was shot, which hung there hours after.
- Moments before the shooting are unclear. Meade reported seeing an armed man and began investigating. Reports were made that there was a verbal exchange between the two, and Goodson pointed the gun at the deputy. Meade’s attorney added that “his client gave verbal commands for Mr. Goodson to drop the gun.” No eyewitnesses have been identified as well as no body camera footage because officers were not issued them.
- Officers were in search of an armed violent offender. Goodson was legally armed at the time of the shoot but had no previous criminal background. According to CNN, the Columbus Division of Police is investigating the incident. A civil rights investigation was opened by the US Attorney’s Office in Southern Ohio.
These cases are added to the many wrongful fatal shooting of Black Americans this year. As justice is served for Hill, the Goodson is still awaiting justice.
