Police chief urges officer who shot Black man be fired

COLUMBUS, OHIO >> The police chief of Columbus, Ohio, recommended on Thursday that the officer who shot and killed Andre Hill, a 47-year- old Black man, earlier this week be fired.

Police Chief Thomas Quinlan said in a statement that he filed two departmental charges alleging critical misconduct against Officer Adam Coy in the death of Hill after an expedited investigation. His recommendation for termination now goes to the city’s public safety director; a hearing is scheduled for Monday.

Quinlan ex pressed heartbreak that Hill cannot celebrate Christmas with his family and rejected any criticism that he might be making a rush to judgment.

“Like all of you, I witnessed his critical misconduct firsthand via his bodyworn camera,” he said. “I have seen everything I need to see to reach the conclusion that Officer Coy must be terminated, immediately.”

Video showed Hill emerging from a garage and holding up a cellphone in his left hand seconds before he was fatally shot by an officer identified as Coy early Tuesday.

About six seconds pass between the time Hill is visible in the video and when the officer fires his weapon. There is no audio because the officer hadn’t activated the body camera; an automatic “look back” feature captured the shooting without audio.