In Columbus, Ohio, a former cop named Adam Coy has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for the fatal shooting of Andre Hill, a 47-year-old Black man who was unarmed and holding only a cellphone and keys when he was killed. The incident, which happened nearly four years ago, led to Coy’s murder conviction in late 2024.
Despite the court’s ruling, Coy maintains that he did nothing wrong. “I feel my actions were justified. I reacted the same way I had in hundreds of training scenarios,” Coy told the court. “I drew and fired my weapon to stop a threat, protect myself and my partner.”
A jury just found former Columbus police officer Adam Coy guilty on all charges in the 2020 shooting death of unarmed Black man, Andre Hill.
Coy is guilty of murder, reckless homicide, and felonious assault.
A reminder that Donald Trump will give all cops “total immunity.” pic.twitter.com/V8omtGKDJo
— Art Candee 🍿🥤 (@ArtCandee) November 4, 2024
The shooting took place in December 2020, when Coy and another officer, Amy Detwiler, responded to a non-emergency call about someone turning a car on and off and playing loud music in a neighborhood just after 1:30 a.m. Hill had been visiting a friend and was inside the garage when police arrived. When asked to come out, he complied. Seconds later, Coy opened fire.
He shot Hill four times. Once in the chest and three times in the leg—less than 10 seconds after seeing him. Hill was holding a cellphone in one hand and keys in the other. No weapon was found at the scene.
Although the officers had not activated their body cameras, a lookback feature captured what happened just before the shooting. The footage showed no threatening behavior from Hill.
Coy later admitted during his October 2024 trial that he had made a terrible error. “I knew at that point I made a mistake,” he told jurors. “I was horrified. It was the worst night of my life.”
Prosecutors argued Hill posed no danger. Detwiler also testified that she never saw a weapon and did not feel threatened. Still, according to internal records, she reported that Coy had shouted, “There’s a gun in his other hand, there’s a gun in his other hand!” The claim is unsupported by any evidence.
Former officer Adam Coy was sentenced to 15 years to life for killing Andre Hill, an unarmed Black man, in 2020. Coy shot Andre within seconds while holding a cell phone, not a weapon. My heart is with Andre’s family as they face a life without their beloved Andre. pic.twitter.com/536zeHmG7m
— Ben Crump (@AttorneyCrump) July 28, 2025
Even more troubling, nearly 10 minutes passed after the shooting before anyone attempted to help Hill. He died later at the hospital.
Hill’s sister, Shawna Barnett, shared the family’s pain in a 2021 interview: “To watch my brother die, I mean, out there with no medical help, period, no kind of sympathy or empathy for him at all, and then to watch him get turned over and handcuffed is unbelievable.”
At sentencing, Hill’s family described him as a warm-hearted man, a beloved grandfather affectionately known as “Big Daddy.” His sisters and ex-wife called his death senseless and deeply painful.
Coy, a 20-year veteran of the Columbus Police Department, had been the subject of multiple citizen complaints over the years, though most were not upheld. After Hill’s death, he was fired and eventually indicted on several charges: murder, felonious assault, reckless homicide, and two counts of dereliction of duty for not turning on his body camera and failing to alert his partner to a supposed threat.
Columbus Police Chief Thomas Quinlan said Coy’s use of force was not justified, and Safety Director Ned Pettus Jr. agreed, citing violations of department policy and failure to render aid.
“I have responded to many officer-involved shooting scenes and spoken with many officers following these critical incidents,” Quinlan wrote in a report after the shooting. “There was something very distinct about the officers’ engagement following this critical incident that is difficult to describe for this letter.”
The incident sparked significant changes in the city. Columbus passed “Andre’s Law,” requiring officers to turn on their body cameras during enforcement and to offer medical aid after using force. The shooting also played a role in the departure of the city’s police chief and broader calls for police reform.
Hill’s family reached a $10 million settlement with the city, the largest in Columbus’s history. Part of the agreement included renaming the gymnasium at the Brentnell Community Center, where Hill had spent much of his time.
“That was a place that he spent a lot of time and a place that is very meaningful to their family,” said family attorney Michael Wright. “To have that done makes them very happy.”
City Attorney Zach Klein acknowledged the deep emotional scars the incident left behind. “We understand that because of this former officer’s actions, the Hill family will never be whole,” he said. “No amount of money will ever bring Andre Hill back to his family, but we believe this is an important and necessary step in the right direction.”
As part of the settlement, no further legal action can be taken against Coy, Detwiler, or the other officers involved.
Attorney Ben Crump, who also represented the Hill family, said the lack of timely aid may have cost Hill his life. An autopsy supported that conclusion.
“We’re happy that this has occurred, but this is a first step,” said Wright after Coy’s indictment. “We want the officer to be convicted, we want him to be incarcerated. The family is happy and they’re cautiously optimistic that Officer Coy will have to pay the price and be convicted for the killing of Andre Hill.”
Columbus Police Officer Adam Coy Sentenced to 15 Years to Life in Prison for Killing a Unarmed Man pic.twitter.com/6TloYz6paG
— BigmanshaneNews (@BIGMANSHANE1) July 28, 2025
Hill’s death came just weeks after another controversial police shooting in Columbus, that of 23-year-old Casey Goodson, who was killed by a sheriff’s deputy. The deputy in that case, Jason Meade, is facing a retrial on murder charges later this year after his first trial ended in a mistrial.
Both cases have fueled growing demands for changes in how police operate and are held accountable in Columbus and beyond.
