Ex-officer convicted of murdering unarmed Black man holding keys & phone

Photo: Getty Images A former Ohio police officer was convicted of murder in connection to the shooting death of Andre Hill, a Black man who was carrying a cellphone and keys when he was killed. Body camera footage showed Hill coming out of his friend’s garage holding a phone in his left hand when he was fatally shot in December 2020 by ex-Columbus officer Adam Coy. Hill’s right hand wasn’t visible in the footage, and Coy testified that he believed the victim was holding a silver revolver that actually turned out to be keys. “I thought I was going to die,” Coy testified. When he rolled over Hill’s body and realized there wasn’t a gun, Coy said: “I knew at that point I made a mistake. I was horrified.” It took almost 10 minutes before officers at the scene began rendering aid to Hill, who was bleeding out on the garage floor. Hill was later taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Prosecutors said Hill followed the officer’s commands and was never a threat to Coy. Coy’s attorneys argued that their client thought his life was in danger so Hill’s lack of weapon didn’t matter. “He wasn’t reckless,...