COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Columbus police chief moved to terminate an officer Thursday afternoon after he fatally shot an unarmed Black resident early Tuesday morning, failed to turn on his body camera, and failed to administer first aid, Division of Police Chief Thomas Quinlan said in a statement.
Officer Adam Coy, who was relieved of duty after the shooting, will not face a disciplinary hearing before the police chief as is usually the case under the city’s policies for terminating an officer, Columbus police said. However, Director of Public Safety Ned Pettus will review Quinlan’s recommendation the officer be terminated in a hearing.
Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther called for Coy’s immediate termination on Wednesday, describing a “stunning disregard for life” by the officer in the aftermath of the shooting.
Andre Maurice Hill, 47, was walking out of his garage with a cell phone in his hand as Coy approached, responding to a non-emergency call of a person turning their car on and off in the middle of the night. Coy’s body-camera captured the officer fatally shooting Hill, but because the officer did not promptly activate his camera there is no audio of what either man said.
Quinlan said Thursday he has filed two charges against Coy and has personally “sustained” those charges after an “expedited” investigation.
“Based on these findings, I am recommending discipline of termination. Today Officer Coy will be served notice of the charges against him, and my recommendations now go to Director of Public Safety,” Quinlan said.
Quinlan said he decided to “bypass” the normal disciplinary hearing after reviewing the body-camera footage and determining he had seen enough.
“Like all of you, I witnessed his critical misconduct firsthand via his body-worn camera. I have seen everything I need to see to reach the conclusion that Officer Coy must be terminated, immediately. Some may call this a rush to judgment. It is not,” Quinlan said. “We have an officer who violated his oath to comply with the rules and policies of the Columbus Division of Police. And the consequences of that violation are so great, it requires immediate action.”
Quinlan explained two investigations are now underway. The first will look at Coy’s “unreasonable use of force” and failure to activate his camera or render aid.
The second investigation will evaluate whether any of the other officers should face discipline for failing to activate cameras or failing to render aid.
The video released Wednesday does not show aid to Hill until more than six minutes after Coy opened fire. Hill was unarmed and committed no crime, officials said. He was not a resident of the home at which he was shot, but he was an expected visitor.
Pettus will hold Coy’s disciplinary hearing Monday morning, Quinlan said.
“Today is Christmas Eve. A time when we should be gathering with those we love. The family of Andre Hill has nothing to celebrate this holiday. Someone very important won’t be with them this holiday, or any other. A Columbus Police Officer is responsible for that. And that breaks my heart,” Quinlan said. “Andre Hill should be with his family this holiday. I ask this community to wrap their arms around his family, and join me in praying for their comfort.”