Ex-officer who mistook a Black man’s keys and phone for a gun gets 15 years to life for murder

COLUMBUS Ohio AP A former Ohio police officer convicted of murder in the shooting of Andre Hill a Black man who was holding a cellphone and keys when he was killed was given a mandatory sentence Monday of years to life Former Columbus officer Adam Coy shot Hill four times in a garage in December as the country reckoned with a series of police killings of Black men women and children He reported jurors that he feared for his life because he thought Hill was holding a silver revolver Coy who is being treated for Hodgkin lymphoma described the court Monday he plans to appeal the verdict I feel my actions were justified Coy reported I reacted the same way I had in hundreds of training scenarios I drew and fired my weapon to stop a threat protect myself and my partner Prosecutors disclosed Hill followed police commands and was never a threat to Coy In victim impact statements Monday Hill s sisters and ex-wife described the -year-old as a gentle man who had never known a stranger His grandchildren called him Big Daddy Police body camera footage indicated Hill coming out of the garage of a friend s house holding up a cellphone in his left hand his right hand not visible seconds before he was fatally shot Almost minutes passed before officers at the scene rendered aid Coy who was fired afterward had a lengthy history of citizen complaints although majority were declared unfounded Weeks later the mayor forced out the police chief after a series of fatal police shootings of Black people Columbus later reached a million settlement with Hill s family and the city passed a law requiring police to give immediate clinical attention to injured persons Source