- Former Columbus
Police Officer Adam Coy has been indicted in thedeath of Andre Hill. - Coy fatally shot Hill while responding to a non-emergency call on December 22.
- Hill's family said on Thursday that they are "relieved" by the indictment but want a conviction.
A former police officer in Columbus,
Adam Coy, who had been with the Columbus Police Department for 19 years, fatally shot Hill, a 47-year-old Black man who was standing in an open garage with his cellphone in hand, on December 22.
Coy was fired following a disciplinary hearing regarding the incident, and a grand jury decided to indict him on charges of murder in the commission of a felony, felonious assault, dereliction of duty for failing to activate his body camera, and dereliction of duty for failing to tell another officer on scene that he believed Hill was a threat, Yost said.
"Andre Hill should not be dead," Yost said at a press conference about the indictment. "I believe the evidence of this case supports the indictment."
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing Hill's family, said in a statement on Wednesday night that he was "encouraged" by the grand jury's decision to indict Coy, calling the shooting "a reckless action."
At a press conference on Thursday, Crump spoke on behalf of Hill's family members, saying the indictment was a "first step" toward justice.
"They recognize this day as a good morning. They haven't had many good mornings since December 22, but [Hill's daughter] Carissa was able to smile and tell her children that it's going to be a good day for the first time in a long time," he said.
Hill's family wants Coy convicted
But Crump urged people not to "celebrate this indictment as a conviction," and cited cases across the country where officers who shot Black men were not convicted.
"The family of Andre Hill is relieved this morning, but they are not satisfied with an indictment of the police officer who killed Andre Hill as he held a cell phone as he walked out of a garage," he said. "We are not satisfied because we want a conviction."
Hill's sister Shawna Barnett also spoke during the press conference, thanking the grand jury for deciding to indict Coy.
"I'm happy about it, but this is not the end. We're here for the long run, however long it takes. My brother deserved that and I don't want him to die in vain," she said. "We have an indictment and we need to carry this further. We want Adam Coy convicted on all the charges. We want him incarcerated."
Hill's daughter, Carissa Hill, said during the press conference that her family is "not backing down."
"We're going to make sure Coy is convicted all charges. That's what we want and that's what we're shooting for."
The Franklin County Coroner's Office determined in December that Hill's death was a homicide and its cause was multiple gunshot wounds.
According to a statement from the Columbus Police Department, Coy and anther officer were responding to a non-emergency call when Hill was shot.
The statement said officers were called to the scene after someone reported a man repeatedly turning his car on and off.
Because it was a non-emergency call, police did not flash their lights or sirens when they arrived on scene, the statement said.
Police found Hill inside a friend's open garage, and within seconds Coy shot him.
The officers did not have their body cameras turned on at the time, but a "look-back" feature, which captures 60 seconds of action before a camera is turned on, showed Hill walking toward officers with a phone in his hand before he was shot.
A further investigation showed Coy also failed to give aid to Hill after the shooting, police said.