Holly MatkinColumbus, OH – The Columbus Police Department (CPD) has released bodycam footage from a fatal officer-involved shooting that occurred inside a residential garage early Tuesday morning (video below).
The incident occurred at about 1:37 a.m. on Dec. 22, after officers responded to the 1000-block of Oberlin Drive for a noise complaint, the Columbus Dispatch reported.
The caller reported that someone was sitting in a vehicle and had been repeatedly turning the ignition off and on, according to WOSU.
Officers failed to activate their bodycams prior to arriving at the scene, but did so immediately after the shooting, Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther told reporters at a press conference on Tuesday night.
Because the cameras also capture the 60 seconds prior to activation, the incident was caught on video.
However, the audio does not begin until after shots were fired.
Bodycam footage showed officers as they made their way up a driveway towards an open overhead garage door.
A man holding a cell phone out in front of him walked around the passenger side of the vehicle as the officers approached the threshold of the garage.
His right hand appeared to be tucked in his pocket, the video showed.
A moment later, the officer frantically retreated down the driveway with his duty weapon drawn.
Police said the officer fired multiple rounds at the man.
The audio kicked in as he made his way back towards the garage to where the suspect, later identified as 47-year-old Andre Maurice Hill, was lying on the ground.
“Put your f—king hand out to the side,” the officer ordered. “Hands out to the side. Now!”
The officer, later identified as 19-year CPD veteran Officer Adam Coy, instructed Hill to roll onto his stomach, but Hill remained on his side.
“Don’t get f—king close – I can’t see his f—king hand!” he warned another officer.
“Get your hand out from underneath you now!” Officer Coy ordered, just before he confirmed that medics were on their way.
He then advanced towards Hill, warning him not to move, and rolled him onto his back, the video showed.
Hill was transported to OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital, where he later died, the Columbus Dispatch reported.
Police did not find a weapon at the scene.
Due to a lack of audio in the first 60 seconds of the recording, it is unknown what verbal exchange may have occurred between Hill and the officers prior to the fatal shooting.
Ginther said he was “outraged” over the officer-involved shooting and called for Officer Coy to be fired immediately, WOSU reported.
He also blasted the CPD for failing to render aid to Hill until approximately six minutes after the shooting occurred.
“From what we can see, none of the officers initially at the scene provide medical assistance to Mr. Hill,” the mayor said, according to WOSU. “No compression on the wounds to stop the bleeding. No attempts at CPR. Not even a hand on the shoulder and an encouraging word that medics were in route.”
Police later learned that the homeowners knew Hill, and that he was an expected guest at the residence, WOSU reported.
Ginther didn’t release many details about what led up to the shooting during his media availability but focused instead the officers’ failure to activate their bodycams prior to the incident.
“While it is early in the investigation, there is one fact that disturbs me greatly,” Ginther said. “The officer involved did not turn on their body worn camera until after the shooting. A function of the technology provides a 60-second lookback, recording 60 seconds prior to the camera being turned on. But the lookback function does not record any audio. So, while we have video of the shooting itself, we have no audio of what the officer said or the gentleman who was shot and killed.”
The mayor said the city has spent $5 million to outfit its police with bodycams “for situations just like this.”
“It is unacceptable to me and the community that the officers did not turn on their camera,” Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther told reporters at a press conference on Tuesday night.
“Let me be clear,” Ginther continued. “If you’re not going to turn on your bodyworn camera, you cannot serve and protect the people of Columbus. I have asked Chief Quinlan to remove the officer involved from duty and turn in his badge and gun.”
Officer Coy has been placed on paid administrative leave while the shooting is investigated, as is protocol for all officer-involved shootings, the Columbus Dispatch reported.
Ginther said the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) was handing the investigation into the officer-involved shooting.
The mayor said he has also asked the U.S. Attorney’s office to review the investigation and ascertain whether any civil rights may have been violated.
Watch the incident unfold in the video below. Warning – Graphic Content and Obscene Language:
