An unarmed Black man named Andre Maurice Hill, 47, was killed this week by police in Columbus, Ohio, when he walked toward a police officer with a cell phone in his hand.
Bodycam video revealed that Hill was in the garage of a house on Monday night when he was shot several times. Police were responding to the scene for a minor incident. No weapons were found on the victim.
The footage had no audio and the police officer, Adam Coy, waited several minutes with his colleague before approaching the victim, who was still alive. He later died.
Local media reports showed that Coy had previous complaints of excessive force.
The Daily Beast reported that, “A middle-aged white man who lives on the block said Tuesday he had placed the 911 call that brought police to the neighborhood. The man, who refused to give his name, said he wanted to make it clear that he made the call because he was woken up by a car engine that the driver kept turning on and off for an extended period.”
Hill is the second African-American killed by police in Columbus in less than three weeks.
“Once again officers see a Black man and conclude that he’s criminal and dangerous,” said lawyer Ben Crump. He denounced the situation as a “tragic succession of officer-involved shootings.”
Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said he was “outraged” and “very disturbed” by Hill’s death. He said that “the residents of the home where his car was parked on the street,” knew him as a “guest… not an intruder.”
Ginther added, “It is unacceptable, to me and the community, that the officers did not turn on their cameras. Let me be clear. If you’re not going to turn on your body-worn camera, you cannot serve and protect the people of Columbus… The community is exhausted.”
Ginther also called for the “immediate termination” of Coy.