A Columbus, Ohio police officer has been relieved of duty after Body camera footage released by the Columbus Police Department on Wednesday shows the fatal shooting of a 47-year-old Black man in which he shot the victim within seconds of the encounter.
The officer, Adam Coy, can be seen approaching the man’s garage and shooting him early Tuesday morning.
The tragic incident comes weeks after a local county sheriff’s deputy, Jason Meade, fatally shot 23-year-old Casey Goodson Jr., whose death sparked protests across the city.
Authorities said that Coy’s body camera was not fully activated, meaning there’s no audio for the first 60 seconds of the encounter.
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However, Coy can be seen with another officer approaching Hill’s garage. About 47 seconds into the video, Hill can be seen walking out of his garage with a phone in one hand.
Coy then shoots shoot Hill, who can be seen falling to the ground.
When audio picks up immediately after, Coy can be heard breathing heavily. “Put your f—ing hands out to the side,” he says to Hill, who appears motionless on the ground. “Hands out to the side now! Roll to your stomach now!”
Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther (D) called for Coy’s “immediate termination.”
“Columbus Division of Police’s core values are integrity, passion, accountability, respect and excellence. But [from] the body-worn camera footage we’ve seen, these values were absent and not on display while Mr. Hill laid dying,” he said in a statement.
The officer turned in his gun and badge on Tuesday and was stripped of all police powers pending a criminal and internal investigation.
Watch the video below (Warning: graphic content).
