COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The fired Ohio police officer accused of killing Andre Hill plans to plead not guilty Wednesday to an additional criminal charge.
Former Columbus police Officer Adam Coy is set to be arraigned after a grand jury on Friday added a criminal charge of reckless homicide against him for the fatal December shooting of Hill, a 47-year-old Black man.
Coy, who is white, was indicted in February on murder, felonious assault and dereliction of duty charges in the death of Hill. Columbus officials cited incompetence and “gross neglect of duty” when the officer was fired less than a week after the Dec. 22 shooting.
“Our case is strong and we look forward to trying it in court,” Senior Assistant Attorney General Anthony Pierson said in a statement Friday.
Coy’s attorney, Mark Collins, has said his client will plead not guilty at the arraignment on Wednesday morning.
“This new charge leads us to believe prosecutors don’t have a lot of faith in the felony murder charge,” Collins said Friday.
Coy, a 19-year veteran of the force, had responded the night of the shooting to a non-emergency call about a vehicle parked on the street.
Upon arriving at the home, Coy’s bodycam showed Hill emerging from a garage and holding up a cellphone in his left hand. Another officer who arrived at the scene told internal affairs detectives that Coy yelled, “There’s a gun in his hand,” before firing at Hill.
There is no audio of the interaction because Coy hadn’t activated the body camera; an automatic “look back” feature captured 60 seconds of the shooting without audio.
Police found no gun at the scene.
