Fired Columbus Police officer Adam Coy has pleaded not guilty to murder and other charges in the December killing of Andre Hill. His bond was set at $3 million.
Coy was arrested and indicted by a grand jury Wednesday on two counts of dereliction of duty, which are second-degree misdemeanors, and one count each of felonious assault and murder. If convicted, the charges carry a maximum sentence of life in prison.
With Coy appearing virtually via video feed, a Franklin County Court of Common Pleas judge accepted Coy’s not-guilty plea and barred him from contacting witnesses or other police officers. She also added a $20,000 recognizance bond.
At Friday’s arraignment, lawyers for the Ohio attorney general asked for a high bond, even as Coy’s lawyers argued he was neither a flight risk nor a threat to public safety, since the incident was an on-duty use of force. The judge sided with the state.
“We don’t see this very often, admittedly, but it did happen and a man lost his life,” said special prosecutor Anthony Pierson of the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.
Coy, who is white, fatally shot 47-year-old Andre Hill, who is Black, on Dec. 22. Coy and another officer, Amy Detweiller, were responding to an early-morning non-emergency call about a person turning on and off a vehicle, when they found Hill inside a garage. The homeowners later said Hill was dropping off Christmas money, and it’s not clear whether Hill was the man referenced by the original caller.
