The city of Columbus will be paying $10 million to the family of Andre Hill and renaming a gym which he usually frequented to Andre Hill Gymnasium. A black man who was not armed when he was fatally shot, white police officer Adam Coy had responded to a call about a car starting and turning off when he shot Hill on December 22, 2020.
It was around 2 am in Northwest Columbus and Hill was coming out of a home garage when Coy shot him. The police officer did not give him any emergency aid till after 10 minutes had passed, and the 47-year-old man died 30 minutes later in the hospital. Coy was sacked a week later and has since been convicted of murder, felonious assault, and reckless homicide.
He posted a $1 million bond and is free at the moment.
Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein said the $10 million settlement is the largest in the history of the city, and that it is a step in the right direction to bring justice to Hill’s family.
“We understand that because of this former officer’s actions, the Hill family will never be whole,” Klein 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.”
The gym inside the Brentnall Community Center will also be renamed the Andre Hill Gymnasium effective from December 2021. Hill’s family attorney, Michael Wright, said the slain man spent a significant portion of his time at the gym and that renaming it after him is both meaningful and gladdening for his family.
Wright went on to reveal that Hill’s family is happy with the monetary settlement, but they are not entirely satisfied with it. He said the family is still waiting for justice to be done and for Coy to be punished for his crime. “From their perspective, they are still hopeful for justice,” he said. “A conviction. That’s what they’re waiting for.”
Since Coy’s body camera was not on when he confronted Hill before shooting him, the Columbus City Council has passed the “Andre’s Law” which states that the body cameras of police officers must be on at all times and that they must provide medical aid to gun victims until the arrival of paramedics. Any officers who failed to do this are liable for prosecution.
Source: usatoday.com