COLUMBUS, Ohio – A former police officer was found guilty of murder Monday in the shooting of Andrew Hilla black man who was holding a cell phone and keys when he was killed.

Officer Adam Coy, who served nearly 20 years on the Columbus police force, shot Hill four times in a garage nearly four years ago. Coy, who is white, was fired after the shooting. He told jurors he thought Hill was holding a silver revolver that turned out to be keys.

“I thought I was going to die,” he testified. It was only after rolling over Hill’s body and seeing the keys that he realized there was no gun, Coy said through tears. “At that moment I knew I had made a mistake. I was horrified.

Coy, who was partially hidden by his grim-faced lawyers, did not visibly react to the verdict, but muffled screams could be heard in the courtroom when it was announced. Prosecutors called for the former officer to be sentenced immediately. Franklin County Judge Stephen McIntosh instead set the sentencing date for Nov. 25.

Coy, who is undergoing cancer treatment for Hodgkin’s lymphoma, was devastated, said defense attorney Mark Collins, who shook his head slightly to say “no” as the verdict was read and later promised to appeal.

Police body camera footage showed Hill walking out of the garage of a friend’s house holding a cellphone in his left hand, his right hand not visible, seconds before he was shot by Coy. Nearly 10 minutes passed before officers at the scene began helping Hill, who was bleeding on the garage floor. He was pronounced dead at the hospital.

A few weeks after the December 2020 shooting, the mayor expelled the police chief after a series of fatal police shootings of black men and children. Columbus later reached a $10 million settlement with the Hill family, the largest in the city’s history. The Columbus City Council also passed Andre’s Law, which requires police officers to provide immediate medical attention to an injured suspect.

Prosecutors said Hill, 47, followed the officer’s orders and never posed a threat to Coy, who now faces at least 15 years in prison. The jury also found him guilty of reckless homicide and felonious assault.

“We’re taught, ‘Do what the cops tell you to do and you can survive this encounter,'” Franklin County Deputy Prosecutor Anthony Pierson said during closing arguments. “That’s not what happened here.”

Shawna Barnett, one of Hill’s sisters, hoped the jury’s decision would send a message that police violence would not be tolerated.

“It’s been too long, but I’m glad it’s over,” she said. “It’s time to stop. It’s time to make it all fair.”

Brian Steel, president of the Columbus police union, said he was shocked by the murder conviction and said it would have repercussions for police officers across Ohio and beyond.

“Your split-second decision can now lead to murder,” he said. “This is absolutely insane.”

“Officers are willing to die for their community, they are willing to die for this job,” Steel said. “They don’t want to go to jail for this work.”

The officer’s lawyers argued that Hill’s lack of a weapon did not matter because Coy believed his life was in danger. “He wasn’t reckless, he was reasonable,” Collins said during the trial.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who represented the Hill family, said the verdict showed that no one was above the law and sent the message that “accountability in law enforcement is not is not optional.

“Andre was an innocent, unarmed man, and his life was taken in disregard of his duty to protect and serve,” Crump said in a statement.

Coy had gone to the neighborhood to investigate a complaint about a person inside a moving vehicle when he first encountered Hill sitting in an SUV. Hill told Coy he was waiting for a friend to come outside.

The officer said he thought Hill seemed dismissive and then suspicious after Hill walked up to a house and knocked on the door before entering the garage.

Coy said he lost sight of Hill and suspected he was trying to break into the house. Coy used a flashlight to spot Hill in the garage and told him to come out, the officer testified.

When Hill walked toward him, Coy said he couldn’t see the man’s right hand, then he saw what he thought was a gun. He said he yelled, “Gun!” Gun!” then shot Hill.

Family and friends said Hill – father and grandfather – was devoted to his family and was a skilled craftsman who dreamed of one day owning his own restaurant, after years of working as a chef and restaurant manager.

Coy had a long history of complaints residents, with more than three dozen complaints filed against him since he joined the department in 2002, according to his personnel file. A dozen complaints involved use of force. All but a few were marked as “unsubstantiated” or “unsubstantiated.”