COLUMBUS, Ohio — Adam Coy is the first Columbus police officer to be found guilty of murder for an on-duty shooting.
In this case, jurors found Coy guilty of murder, reckless homicide and felonious assault in the shooting death of Andre Hill on Dec. 22, 2020.
“Historically when police officers make mistakes, they can expect to be disciplined, retrained, they can expect a civil lawsuit. It's only recently the prosecutors have decided to charge felonies charges against police officers, which sends a clear message to those in police work,” said attorney Mark Weaver.
During the trial, Jurors were given instructions that the murder charge showed intent, and the reckless homicide charge meant the death happened not purposefully.
Weaver explained how a jury could find Coy guilty of two different charges with different meanings.
“In this case, if the jurors thought that Adam Coy acted purposely, which is the mental state of this statute, I think they just presumed they could also find he acted recklessly or negligently. Some of the jury instructions and questions with the judge suggested that was in the jury's head at the time,” he explained.
Defense attorney Mark Collins, who represented Coy in the murder trial, said he would appeal the verdict.
Weaver explained when Coy is sentenced, the charges will merge and Coy will only be sentenced on one charge.
“It's common for prosecutors to bring several charges for the same allegation. If they are convicted on all three, then the prosecutor gets to choose which one of those charges goes forward, usually the most serious charges,” Weaver said.
Coy could face a sentence of 15 years to life on the murder conviction. Weaver said this verdict could have a ripple effect.
“Adam Coy said he made a mistake. Putting a police officer in prison for the rest of their lives because of a mistake any of us could have made in a darkened garage in the middle of the night, with someone acting very suspiciously, that's a troubling notion,” Weaver said.
Coy was immediately taken into custody. He will be sentenced on Nov. 25.