COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #9 President Keith Ferrell said the local police union has not decided whether it will appeal or ask to arbitrate the firing of Adam Coy, the former Columbus Division of Police officer who shot and killed Andre' Hill.
Hill, an unarmed Black man who was visiting a home in Columbus, died Dec. 22.
The shooting sparked protests and renewed national attention on the issue of race and use of force by police.
During a press conference Monday, Ferrell told reporters the police union is asking for more time to weigh whether or not it will appeal or fight Coy’s firing – given the ongoing internal and criminal investigations into the matter.
“We may not possibly ever arbitrate that case, but we can’t make that decision legally until we have that information,” Ferrell said.
Ferrell also announced Monday that the police union had filed a grievance with the city over issues that arose with Coy’s firing – alleging that the Columbus Division of Police and the city violated several portions of the police union contract.
Among them, Police Chief Thomas Quinlan made the decision to forgo a hearing before his office that would’ve given Coy the opportunity to address his behavior.
Instead, after reviewing the body camera footage, Chief Quinlan made the recommendation to fire Coy for his use of deadly force, his failure to render aid to Hill and his failure to initially activate his body-worn camera.
Public Safety Director Ned Pettus agreed with Quinlan’s recommendation to fire Coy.
Ferrell told reporters there were “probably six different articles” in the FOP contract that the police union alleges the city violated in its firing of Coy.
When pressed for more specifics, Ferrell acknowledged Quinlan’s decision to forgo that hearing was part of the grievance but added there were several other issues – including grievance procedures, investigative procedures and other items related to rules and directives.
“There are procedures in place in that contract to ensure that everyone is treated fairly, given an opportunity to speak, to hear their side and everything else. And that’s all part of it. It’s just simple due process. If someone in this room were in trouble, they would want the opportunity to be able to speak for themselves and have a fair and impartial way to go about that. There are procedures in place for that and we don’t feel that they were followed,” Ferrell told reporters.
Ferrell was also asked about issues related to rendering aid.
Last week, 10 Investigates reported that body camera footage shows that at least 12 minutes go by from the time Hill was shot to the time any Columbus officer provided aid to Hill. The officers who did provide chest compressions only did so at the urging of a superior officer who arrived on scene.
Quinlan told 10 Investigates in a recent interview that he was “bothered with” the actions of a few officers, wondering “why they didn’t do more.”
In a directive last week, Chief Quinlan re-emphasized the need for officers to render aid and had previously spelled out how simply calling for a medic was insufficient.
Ferrell said officers don’t have the same level of medical training as fire or EMS, nor the same level of equipment or personal protective gear.
“The level of training significantly would have to increase if you want us to be medics, and the equipment we are provided now is not sufficient to do a lot of these things,” Ferrell said. “If there is a change in expectation, the officers need the training and the equipment to do so.”
In a statement issued to 10TV News, Public Safety Director Ned Pettus said: “We understand the FOP’s obligation to its members. We have an obligation to the residents of Columbus. We are fully prepared to defend our position when arbitration is scheduled.”