Ohio ex-police officer sentenced to 15 years to life in 2020 killing of Andre Hill
Former Columbus officer Adam Coy shot Hill four times in a garage in December 2020, as the country reckoned with a series of police killings of Black men, women and children. He told jurors that he feared for his life because he thought Hill was holding a silver revolver.
Coy, who is being treated for Hodgkin lymphoma, told the court Monday he plans to appeal against the verdict.
'I feel my actions were justified,' Coy said. 'I reacted the same way I had in hundreds of training scenarios. I drew and fired my weapon to stop a threat, protect myself and my partner.'
Prosecutors said Hill followed police commands and was never a threat to Coy.
In victim impact statements Monday, Hill's sisters and ex-wife described the 47-year-old as a gentle man who had never met a stranger. His grandchildren called him 'big daddy'.
Police body camera footage showed Hill coming out of the garage of a friend's house holding up a cellphone in his left hand, his right hand not visible, seconds before he was fatally shot. Almost 10 minutes passed before officers at the scene rendered aid.
Coy, who was fired afterward, had a lengthy history of citizen complaints, although most were declared unfounded. Weeks later, the mayor forced out the police chief after a series of fatal police shootings of Black people.
Columbus later reached a $10m settlement with Hill's family, and the city passed a law requiring police to give immediate medical attention to injured suspects.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Montana shooting victims named as manhunt for suspect continues
Montana's attorney general on Sunday released the names of the four people who were shot to death in a mass murder at a bar two days earlier. The victims were Daniel Edwin Ballie, 59; Nancy Lauretta Kelly, 64; David Allen Leach, 70; and Tony Wayne Palm, 74. All four were residents of Anaconda, Montana, where the quadruple murder took place, a statement from the Montana attorney general, Austin Knudsen, said. Former US army soldier Michael Paul Brown, 45, is suspected of having killed Ballie, Kelly, Leach and Palm at The Owl Bar in Anaconda. Kelly was a bartender, and the others were patrons, Knudsen said at a news conference Sunday. Brown remained at large as of Sunday, with officials warning that he may be armed as well as getting around in a stolen car containing clothes and camping gear. Knudsen alleged that Brown carried out Friday morning's mass murder with a rifle that law enforcement believes was his personal weapon. The attorney general warned residents in the town of just more than 9,000 people that Brown, who lived next door to the bar where he was a regular, could come back to the area. Anaconda is about 75 miles (120km) south-east of Missoula in a valley hemmed in by mountains. 'This is an unstable individual who walked in and murdered four people in cold blood for no reason whatsoever,' Knudsen remarked on Sunday. 'So there absolutely is concern for the public.' Numerous local public events were canceled over the weekend as the search for Brown entered its third day, according to Facebook pages in the area. Robert Wyatt, 70, told the Associated Press that he was neighbors with Leach. The two men lived next door to each other in a public housing complex for elderly people and people with disabilities. 'Everybody is nervous' since Friday, Wyatt said. Leach was deaf and kept mostly to himself, Wyatt said – and he only recalls Leach having a family visit once almost a year ago. But Leach was always happy to help his neighbors with chores like moving furniture. 'If you needed help, Dave would help,' Wyatt said to the AP. 'He was a good neighbor.' Among the areas that investigators have searched for Brown are woods where he hunted and camped while he was a child. Brown served in the Army as an armor crewman from 2001 to 2005 and deployed to Iraq from early 2004 until March 2005, said Lt Col Ruth Castro, an army spokesperson. Brown was in the Montana national guard from 2006 to March 2009, Castro said, and left military service at the rank of sergeant. Brown's niece, Clare Boyle, told the AP that her uncle had spent years struggling with mental illness. Boyle said she and other family members repeatedly sought help. 'This isn't just a drunk/high man going wild,' she said in a Facebook message. 'It's a sick man who doesn't know who he is sometimes and frequently doesn't know where or when he is either.' Knudsen said on Sunday that local law enforcement was familiar with Brown prior to the mass murder. It was widely believed that he knew at least some of the victims, given how close he lived to the bar. Authorities circulated a photograph of Brown from surveillance footage taken shortly after the fatal shootings. He appeared to be barefoot and in minimal clothing. But law enforcement now believes Brown ditched the vehicle he escaped in and stole a different one that had camping gear, shoes and clothes in it – leaving open the possibility that Brown is now clothed. The last time that law enforcement saw Brown was on Friday afternoon, but there was 'some confusion' because there were multiple white vehicles involved, Knudsen said. There is a $7,500 reward for any information that leads to Brown's capture. 'This is still Montana,' Knudsen said. 'Montanans know how to take care of themselves. But please, if you have any sightings, call 911.' Elsewhere in the US on Sunday, authorities in Tennessee were searching for a man wanted in the murders of the parents, grandmother and uncle of an infant found alone and alive in a discarded car seat. Austin Robert Drummond, 28, was named as the suspect in that quadruple murder. Two other men had been arrested on allegations that they assisted Drummond, according to investigators. The victims in that case were found dead in Tiptonville, Tennessee, about 40 miles from where the baby was left, officials have said. They were identified as James M Wilson, 21; Adrianna Williams, 20; Cortney Rose, 38; and Braydon Williams, 15. Associated Press contributed reporting
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Montana bar shooting: Manhunt intensifies for suspect as victims are named
Police have named four people killed in a shooting at a bar in the US state of Montana as a manhunt for an army veteran suspected of the attack entered its third Nancy Lauretta Kelley, 64, and three customers - Daniel Edwin Baillie, 59, David Allen Leach, 70, and Tony Wayne Palm, 74 - died as a rifle-wielding assailant opened fire at the pub in the city of Anaconda on Friday said the suspect, 45-year-old Michael Paul Brown, fled to the nearby foothills afterwards. Authorities have offered a reward of $7,500 (£5,650) for any information that will lead to his capture. "This is an unstable individual who walked in and murdered four people in cold blood for no reason whatsoever," Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen told a news conference on Sunday. "So there absolutely is concern for the public."He added that officials had since widened their search area to include national forest land outside Anaconda, a town with a population of almost 10,000 in south-western Montana that is surrounded by dense, mountainous terrain."We want to find this guy," Mr Knudsen said. "This is a dangerous individual who has committed an absolute heinous crime against this community."Around 250 law enforcement officers - federal, state and local - have been aiding in the search on foot as well as by car and helicopter, officials said. The shooting happened at The Owl Bar at around 10:30 local time on Friday morning, officials said. Mr Knudsen noted that the suspect was a regular at the pub and had lived next door. He said it was "likely that he [the suspect] knew the bartender and these patrons, which makes this even more heinous". Cassandra Dutra, another barmaid, told CNN that the suspect would come into The Owl Bar frequently, but "he wasn't a part of the camaraderie" among customers. Ms Dutra was not working on Kelley's daughter told NBC News her mother had been a nurse for around 30 years until retiring Kelley said her mother had found a part-time job at the bar as "it kept her a little bit social, just seeing people". She said a mass shooting was once unthinkable in Anaconda."We didn't even lock our cars outside, you know, or the house, and it's, I mean, I wouldn't say, it's dangerous here at all," she told are not ruling out the possibility that Mr Brown may now be deceased, but said they were acting on the assumption that he is alive, armed and dangerous. Mr Brown is a veteran of the US Armed Forces, who served as an armour crewman from 2001-05, and was deployed to Iraq from 2004-05, a military spokeswoman told US media. After the shooting authorities found a white Ford-150 pick-up truck that they said the suspect had used to get away, but no sign of Saturday, the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation released an updated image that they said showed the suspect fleeing the the photo, a man is seen shirtless, barefoot and wearing only black shorts, and walking down a set of stairs while leaning against a stone Knudsen said the photo was taken after the suspect got rid of some personal belongings and his clothes. He believes Mr Brown later got a different set of clothing and shoes, and was "able to get around".The shooting forced many businesses in the area to shut down on Friday. Some have since reopened, but numerous public events have been cancelled due to the Brown's niece, Clare Boyle, told the Associated Press news agency her uncle had struggled with mental illness for years."This isn't just a drunk/high man going wild," she said in a Facebook message. "It's a sick man who doesn't know who he is sometimes and frequently doesn't know where or when he is either."
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Beautiful 17-year-old girl's killer learns his fate after gunning her down steps from her home
The man who was accused of murdering a 17-year-old Long Beach girl who was walking home from her job at McDonald's has been sentenced to 358 years to life in prison. Troy Lamar Fox, 34, was convicted in March of first-degree murder for the killing of Briana Soto, a student who was gunned down just steps from her home. The jury also convicted him of four counts of attempted murder in a separate shooting on April 9, 2024, in which he opened fire on a car carrying four minors, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office announced Thursday. 'Briana Soto had her whole life ahead of her - she was getting ready for her prom, her 18th birthday, and graduation,' Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said. 'Today's sentence ensures the person who stole her future will never be free to harm another innocent person. While this punishment cannot undo the pain he caused, it is a step toward justice for Briana, her loved ones, and our community.' Lamar Fox was already in custody for an unrelated weapons violation when he was identified by Long Beach Police as the suspect who fatally shot Soto as she walked home from work. Soto was just outside her family's home on the evening of March 26 around 8:30pm when she was shot while on the phone with her mother. The teen's family heard the gunshots outside their home - rushing her to the hospital where she eventually succumbed to her injuries three days later. The suspect was caught on security footage moments after the shooting dressed in dark clothing with a mask covering his face. Long Beach Police investigated DNA, video and cell phone evidence before identifying Fox as the suspect who is believed to be involved in two other incidents on April 9 and July 7. On April 9, officers responded to a shots-fired call where a suspect, believed to be Fox, discharged a firearm in the direction of three juveniles and one adult in a vehicle. On July 7, cops arrived on the scene after a report of firearms inside of a vehicle. During the incident, officers located Fox and a juvenile suspect and later learned they were both prohibited possessors. Two firearms were recovered on the suspects and four firearms were recovered from the vehicle. Fox had an outstanding warrant for his arrest issued in November 2023 for violation of his parole terms. Following investigation into Soto's case, on September 11, detectives presented evidence to a Los Angeles Superior Court Judge and obtained an arrest warrant for Fox for the murder of the Long Beach teen. On September 13, cops took custody of Fox from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and booked him into the Long Beach City Jail. Police have not yet disclosed a motive behind the shootings.
