COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Jury selection has continued into the second day of a murder trial for a former Columbus police officer who fatally shot an unarmed man.
The jury selection process began Monday in the case against former Columbus police officer Adam Coy, 48, who is facing charges of murder, reckless homicide and felonious assault for fatally shooting Andre Hill, 47. Both Hill and Coy had family members present in the courtroom. If convicted of murder, Coy could face a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Prosecution and defense attorneys said they expect to wrap up jury selection Tuesday afternoon and begin opening statements Wednesday, where both sides will have the opportunity to lay out the basic facts of the case to jurors and outline what they expect to prove.
Attorneys face the challenge of selecting an unbiased jury, given the 2020 shooting of Hill garnered national attention. Numerous prospective jurors Monday said they have seen body camera footage of the shooting on the news.
The jury pool consisted of over 100 people when the selection process began Monday. All prospective jurors had to answer 92 questions, ranging from their opinions on groups like Black Lives Matter and Blue Lives Matter, to what coverage they have consumed related to Hill’s death and if they socialize with any police officers. Multiple jurors were dismissed Monday because of their bias for or against police or social justice issues.
Use of force trials for police officers use a different standard than the typical murder trial. Jurors will not have to determine if Coy killed Hill but rather if Coy’s use of force was “objectively reasonable” based on the knowledge he had during that time, without the use of hindsight.
The shooting
On Dec. 22, 2020, Columbus police received a nonemergency call reporting a suspicious vehicle in the 1000 block of Oberlin Drive on the northwest side of the city. Coy, a 19-year veteran of the force, and fellow officer Amy Detweiler responded to the report around 1:50 a.m., when they spotted an open garage and walked toward it with their flashlights on.
Hill, who was later determined to be a guest at the home, was in the garage. Body camera video shows he began walking toward officers with a brightly lit phone screen held up in one hand, while his other hand was at his side and not clearly visible. It was then that Coy shot Hill, striking him four times. Less than nine seconds passed from the time Hill was illuminated by a flashlight to when he was shot.
Coy did not turn on his body camera until after the shooting. Due to a lookback feature that retained the previous 60 seconds of video without any audio, the shooting was captured. However, what was said before shots were fired was not recorded.
During a later interview completed by the police department, Detweiler claimed that Coy asked Hill to exit the garage using a normal tone and Hill did not say anything in response, but turned and walked out of the garage. She revealed she did not see a gun or observe any threats from Hill but heard Coy yell, “There’s a gun in his other hand! There’s a gun in his other hand!” just before firing.
Multiple officers arrived about five minutes after Hill was shot, and roughly another five minutes passed before an officer gave Hill any medical assistance. He was transported to a local hospital and pronounced dead at 2:35 a.m. No weapon was recovered at the scene. Approximately one week after the shooting, Coy was fired from the Columbus Division of Police.
In October 2021, Coy’s trial was set for March 2022. However, over the course of years, the trial has been delayed three times due to Coy’s battle with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He is now considered healthy enough to stand trial. The prosecution and defense expect the trial to last about two weeks.
Who will be in the courtroom?
Coy is represented by attorneys Mark Collins and Kaitlyn Stephens. The pair has represented multiple law enforcement officials under prosecutorial scrutiny for their use of force, including former Columbus police vice officer Andrew Mitchell, who killed Donna Castleberry in 2018, and Connor Grubb, a Blendon Township officer who killed Ta’Kiya Young outside a Kroger in August 2023.
Deputy Chief Counsel Anthony Pierson with the Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office will be the prosecuting attorney. Before coming to the Prosecutor’s Office, Pierson most recently worked in Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s office as the lead prosecutor on all officer shooting cases. Pierson said Hill’s family will be present for part, if not all, of the trial.
Presiding over the case is Judge Stephen McIntosh, who has sat on the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas since 2006.
