Adam Coy, a former officer of the Columbus Division of Police, has filed an appeal to his murder conviction, challenging the jury's decision, which led to his sentence of 15 years to life imprisonment for the death of Andre Hill in December 2020, ABC6 reported. The conviction, originating from an incident where Hill, an unarmed Black man, was shot and killed after being mistaken for holding a weapon, was based on charges of murder, reckless homicide, and felonious assault.
Hill met death as he emerged from a northwest Columbus home, an abode to which he was invited and where Coy, responding to a non-emergency call, perceived a threat resulting in the fatal shooting, Hill was holding up a cellphone in his left hand when he appeared from the garage, his right hand was not visible, after the shooting, officers on the scene delayed approximately ten minutes before administering aid, WBNS detailed.
During his trial, Coy addressed the jury, expressing his belief that his actions were within the boundaries set by his training and the laws guiding law enforcement, however, the appeal posits that the jury's understanding of these practices was clouded, thus rendering the conviction unjust, in Coy's view, "I believe in the law," he said, "That is why I dedicated my entire adult life to it. I feel my actions were justified and within the reasonable officer condition and standard except for by case law. I disagree with the jury's decision because I believe they did not understand the response of police officers trained to perform as it relates to the Ohio Revised Code, relative case law, and they were confused by the jury instructions they received and deliberated by," as he told ABC6.
Coy, now an inmate at the Correctional Reception Center in Orient, southwest of Columbus, submitted his appeal through his attorneys with the 10th District Court of Appeals, Coy's defense team previously requested the judge to overturn the verdict and grant a bond, yet this plea was denied, leaving Coy's last recourse in the legal system being the appeal process, this was conveyed by WOSU.
