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Judge not ready to rule on former Columbus police officer's motion to move trial

The judge said he was not ready to rule on some defense motions such as Coy's attorney, Mark Collins, wanting a change of venue.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The former Columbus police officer charged for killing Andre' Hill in December appeared in court for a mostly procedural hearing on Wednesday.

The judge said he was not ready to rule on some defense motions such as Coy's attorney, Mark Collins, wanting a change of venue and wanting to interview jurors individually in the voir dire process.

"When you say something out loud, sometimes people then pick up on what other people say or use it. And other times, jurors will be like 'I don't feel comfortable talking about these types of things in front of other people because I don't want to be judged," Collins said.

Collins filed a motion in Franklin County earlier this month requesting a change of venue to ensure Coy receives a "fair trial before a jury untainted with pre-trial publicity."

Assistant Attorney General Anthony Pierson filed a motion last week opposing the request.

Coy shot and killed Hill on Dec. 22, 2020, as Hill walked out of a garage on Oberlin Drive. Coy and another officer were responding to a non-emergency call on the report of a suspicious vehicle on Oberlin Drive.

Hill emerged from around a vehicle with a cell phone in his left hand and his right hand was not visible. Coy removed his gun and fired at Hill seconds later.

Hill was taken to a hospital where he later died.

Coy was fired on Dec. 28 and later charged with murder, reckless homicide and felonious assault. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges. 

Coy was initially charged with dereliction of duty for not activating his body camera, but those charges were dropped.

In May, Columbus reached a $10 million settlement with the family of Hill, the largest in the city’s history.

Coy is currently out on a $1 million bond.

The next hearing in the case is scheduled for October.

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