Columbus Cop Guns Down Unarmed Black Man In Response To A Noise Complaint

Ohio recorded another instance of police brutality on Tuesday morning after an unarmed Black man was fatally shot by an officer with a history of violent misconduct.

Adam Coy, an 18-year veteran responded to a noise complaint and arrived at the scene— a street in northwest Columbus—with another officer to probe further. The complaint suggested that a “man was sitting in a Chevy SUV for an extended period of time.”

The report also added that the man in question repeatedly kept turning his car on and off much to the annoyance of a middle-aged neighbor who then made a non-emergency call to 911 at around 1.45 a.m. While such instances are usually captured on body-worn cameras, both the officers on duty were guilty of not turning on their devices until after the shooting.

The neighbor alleged that he summoned the police after the mystery man’s activity piqued his suspicion, as the neighbor never really saw people lurking around at odd hours in big vehicles. The neighbor further alleged that the cops asked him to leave the scene and return home. But, as per the officer’s version, they found a “garage door open and a man inside.” Preliminary investigations indicated the man was visiting someone inside the home, police said.

Aghast by the sequence of events; Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther addressed the controversial incident during a Tuesday press conference. Ginther reportedly averred that he’d asked Columbus Police chief Thomas Quinlan “to remove the officer-involved [from] duty and turn in his badge and gun.” The officer, however, will still be paid owing to contractual obligations. While the identity of the 47-year-old victim and the suspended cop wasn’t disclosed initially, but a local NBC affiliate reportedly named the officer as Adam Coy.

“It is unacceptable, to me and the community, that the officers did not turn on their cameras,” Ginther said. “Let me be clear. If you’re not going to turn on your body-worn camera, you cannot serve and protect the people of Columbus. The community is exhausted,” he added.

A detailed review of the “look back” footage was carried out, which then made it clear that the victim had walked toward the officers with a cell phone in his left hand. His right hand, however, was not visible.

“One officer fired his weapon, striking the 47-year-old man, who later died at 2:25 a.m. at OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital,” said the police, who admitted to “a delay in [the] rendering of first-aid to the man.”

While the Columbus Police chief Quinlan didn’t attend the conference, he maintained that he was infuriated by the nonchalance despite stringent department policies. “The Division invested millions of dollars in these cameras for the express purpose of creating a video and audio record of these kinds of encounters," Quinlan said. “They provide transparency and accountability, and protect the public, as well as officers when the facts are in question.”

As per police statements, body-cams entailed a 60-second “look back” feature that captured the shooting on video, but the “look back” feature doesn’t record audio. Ginther maintained that the silent video will be made available for public view as early as Wednesday after it has been shared with the deceased 47-year-old’s family.

In his statement, Quinlan called it “a tragedy on many levels.” “Most importantly a life has been lost. That must be our focus going forward,” he said, maintaining how he’s committed to transparency and accountability in our Division of Police.

The Ohio Attorney General's Bureau of Criminal Investigation will be heading the probe. Speculations are rife that the city is also looking into the incident per police policy whenever an officer is involved in a shooting.