#Ohio cop who killed unarmed black man holding cellphone is fired

The white Ohio cop who shot and killed Andre Hill — a 47-year-old black man holding a cellphone — was fired on Monday.

Columbus police officer Adam Coy got the boot hours after a hearing was held to determine whether his actions were justified, and whether he would keep his job, Columbus Public Safety Director Ned Pettus Jr. said.

“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,” Pettus said in a statement.

“The shooting of Andre Hill is a tragedy for all who loved him in addition to the community and our Division of Police.”

Coy, a 17-year veteran of the force, remains under investigation for last week’s shooting.

At around 1 a.m. on Tuesday, he and another cop had responded to a non-emergency call about a car in front of his house in the Cranbrook neighborhood that had been running, then shut off, then turned back on.

It remains unclear if that car had anything to do with Hill, officials have said.

Police bodycam footage showed Hill emerging from a garage while holding up a cellphone in his left hand — and being shot by Coy some six seconds later. Hill was unarmed.

No audio is available since Coy did not turn on his body camera until after the shooting, which only captured video due to an automatic “look back” feature.

For several minutes, Coy and the other cop refused to administer aid to Hill, who died less than an hour later at a nearby hospital.

An additional investigation is being conducted into the other cops who appeared to have failed to turn on their body cameras or render aid at the scene, said Police Chief Thomas Quinlan.

Officers must activate their body cams as soon as they are dispatched to a major incident, such as a shooting or robbery. While Coy was sent on a non-emergency call, he should have turned on the cam when he interacted with Hill, a police spokesman said.

Quinlan, in a video statement on Christmas Eve, said he had seen enough to recommend that Coy be terminated.

“This is what accountability looks like. The evidence provided solid rationale for termination,” Quinlan said after Coy’s firing on Monday.

“Mr. Coy will now have to answer to the state investigators for the death of Andre Hill.”

Members of the local Fraternal Order of Police attended the hearing on behalf of Coy, who wasn’t there, according to a statement from Pettus’ office.

“Officer Coy was given the opportunity today to come and participate,” Brian Steel, vice president of the police union, told reporters Monday.

“He elected not to participate. I do not know why … I would have liked to have him here, but it’s his decision.”

Coy had been suspended since last week and required to turn in his gun and shield.

In addition to an internal police probe and a state criminal investigation, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost was appointed a special prosecutor in the death of Hill on Thursday.

Hill’s family and their lawyer Ben Crump said in a statement that the Columbus Department of Public Safety made the right call in firing Coy.

“We look forward to reviewing all the bodycam footage and determining everything that happened leading to Andre Hill’s death,” the statement said.

“We need to redefine a relationship between police and communities of color in which it doesn’t turn deadly for a Black person with a cell phone to encounter a law enforcement officer.”

With Post wires