REUTERS

A white police officer in Columbus, Ohio, was fired on Monday for fatally shooting an unarmed Black man last week in what the city’s police chief deemed an “unreasonable use of deadly force,” the city’s public safety director announced.

Dismissal of officer Adam Coy followed the recommendation of the police chief, who concluded that Andre Maurice Hill, 47, was the victim of an act of “senseless violence” when he was gunned down in the early morning hours of last Tuesday.

Hill was shot to death in the garage of a house where he had been staying as a guest.

“The actions of Adam Coy do not live up to the oath of a Columbus police officer, or the standards we, and the community, demand of our officers,” Ned Pettus, the city’s public safety director, wrote in a statement announcing his decision.

“The shooting of Andre Hill is a tragedy for all who loved him, in addition to the community and our division of police,” Pettus wrote.

Pettus’ decision capped a disciplinary hearing that came three days after Police Chief Thomas Quinlan concluded his own expedited review of the case, finding that Coy had engaged in “critical misconduct” that should cost him his job.

In addition to finding that the shooting amounted to “an unreasonable use of deadly force,” Quinlan faulted Coy for failing to immediately render medical aid to Hill after he was shot and for not activating his body-worn camera at the outset of the confrontation.

Reporting by Steve Gorman and Rich McKay; Editing by Leslie Adler and Stephen Coates / REUTERS