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CNN
3 hours ago
- CNN
Ex-officer who mistook a Black man's keys and phone for a gun gets 15 years to life for murder
A former Ohio police officer convicted of murder in the shooting of Andre Hill, a Black man who was holding a cellphone and keys when he was killed, was given a mandatory sentence Monday of 15 years to life. Former Columbus officer Adam Coy shot Hill four times in a garage in December 2020, as the country reckoned with a series of police killings of Black men, women and children. He told jurors that he feared for his life because he thought Hill was holding a silver revolver. Coy, who is being treated for Hodgkin lymphoma, told the court Monday he plans to appeal the verdict. 'I feel my actions were justified,' Coy said. 'I reacted the same way I had in hundreds of training scenarios. I drew and fired my weapon to stop a threat, protect myself and my partner.' Prosecutors said Hill followed police commands and was never a threat to Coy. In victim impact statements Monday, Hill's sisters and ex-wife described the 47-year-old as a gentle man who had never met a stranger. His grandchildren called him 'Big Daddy.' Police body camera footage showed Hill coming out of the garage of a friend's house holding up a cellphone in his left hand, his right hand not visible, seconds before he was fatally shot. Almost 10 minutes passed before officers at the scene rendered aid. Coy, who was fired afterward, had a lengthy history of citizen complaints, although most were declared unfounded. Weeks later, the mayor forced out the police chief after a series of fatal police shootings of Black people. Columbus later reached a $10 million settlement with Hill's family, and the city passed a law requiring police to give immediate medical attention to injured suspects. The local Fraternal Order of Police chapter said it would continue to support Coy, for both his sake and that of every officer who 'acts in good faith' under department protocols. 'While this incident was a heart-rending mistake, it wasn't murder,' said Brian Steel, president of FOP Capital City Lodge 9.
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Business Standard
15 hours ago
- Business Standard
Ex-cop who mistook Black man's phone for gun gets 15 yrs to life for murder
A former Ohio police officer convicted of murder in the shooting of Andre Hill, a Black man who was holding a cellphone and keys when he was killed, was given a mandatory sentence Monday of 15 years to life. Former Columbus officer Adam Coy shot Hill four times in a garage in December 2020, as the country reckoned with a series of police killings of Black men, women and children. He told jurors that he feared for his life because he thought Hill was holding a silver revolver. Coy, who is being treated for Hodgkin lymphoma, told the court Monday he plans to appeal the verdict. I feel my actions were justified, Coy said. I reacted the same way I had in hundreds of training scenarios. I drew and fired my weapon to stop a threat, protect myself and my partner." Prosecutors said Hill followed police commands and was never a threat to Coy. In victim impact statements Monday, Hill's sisters and ex-wife described the 47-year-old as a gentle man who had never met a stranger. His grandchildren called him Big Daddy." Police body camera footage showed Hill coming out of the garage of a friend's house holding up a cellphone in his left hand, his right hand not visible, seconds before he was fatally shot. Almost 10 minutes passed before officers at the scene rendered aid. Coy, who was fired afterward, had a lengthy history of citizen complaints, although most were declared unfounded. Weeks later, the mayor forced out the police chief after a series of fatal police shootings of Black people. Columbus later reached a $10 million settlement with Hill's family, and the city passed a law requiring police to give immediate medical attention to injured suspects. The local Fraternal Order of Police chapter said it would continue to support Coy, for both his sake and that of every officer who acts in good faith under department protocols. While this incident was a heart-rending mistake, it wasn't murder, said Brian Steel, president of FOP Capital City Lodge 9.
Indianapolis Star
16-07-2025
- Politics
- Indianapolis Star
Hogsett defends Indy's crime-fighting record after Braun hints at state intervention
Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett is defending the city's response to gun violence after Indiana Gov. Mike Braun said state lawmakers should be considering ways they might intervene in local policing. The back-and-forth between the two executives in the state's capital follows a mass shooting downtown after a Fourth of July celebration and a spate of homicides this month — during a year in which homicides and shootings nonetheless remain down from 2024, according to police. "I respect Gov. Braun's concern, but he's not on the ground in Indianapolis," Hogsett said in a written statement Wednesday morning. "While we are saddened by the incidents that have taken place over the last few weekends, the facts are irrefutable: violence has been on the decline for the last three years. Our gun violence reduction strategy is saving lives." Braun's comments Monday that "something needs to change" in Indianapolis came in response to a plea from the head of the city's police union, Fraternal Order of Police President Rick Snyder, for state leaders to somehow step in. The Indianapolis City-County Council is considering a stricter youth curfew and punitive fines for parents whose kids violate curfew, but critics like Snyder doubt it will deter violent crime. Braun and Senate Pro Tempore Rodric Bray, R-Martinsville, both mentioned the same issue in statements to IndyStar: Indianapolis and Marion County are independent jurisdictions governed by lawfully elected officials, and it's unclear what power state lawmakers have to impose their will. Snyder suggested the possibility of "a recall option for elected officials, if nothing else for the Prosecutor and Judges at a minimum" in a recent Indianapolis Business Journal column. He has not responded to IndyStar's requests for him to discuss what other ideas he would recommend to state leaders. Braun has responded to Indiana Republicans' concerns about prosecutors whom they perceive to be too lenient, particularly Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears, by backing a new law creating a state review board to target "noncompliant prosecutors." Speaking Monday, Braun challenged Indianapolis residents to "put different people in charge" and said the state capital seemed safer a decade ago under Republican Mayor Greg Ballard's leadership. While homicides were lower during Ballard's tenure, they were still climbing. The city broke a record during his second term: 144 criminal homicides in 2015, the most since 1998. That number steadily rose until 2021, when violent crime spiked nationwide and the city saw a historic 249 criminal homicides. The annual numbers have fallen since then. So far this year, Indianapolis police have reported 84 criminal homicides. That figure is 27% lower than this time last year, according to IMPD data shared with IndyStar. Hogsett said his administration continues to push for full staffing of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, adding that IMPD is still suffering from a yearslong hiring freeze that Ballard instituted. After surpassing 1,700 officers in 2019, IMPD's ranks had dwindled to about 1,460 toward the end of last year — about 300 officers below the budgeted amount. The mayor has also created an office, the Office of Public Health and Safety, to intervene in violence in the city's neighborhoods and to fund grassroots groups who work with at-risk youth.
New York Post
15-07-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Democratic city officers flocking to cop-friendly red states, police leader claims: ‘Why would anyone stay?'
Law enforcement officers in areas primarily run by Democrats continue to flock to red states for job security, better pay and bosses who will back them up, according to one police leader. Joe Gamaldi is the national vice president of the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP). He is an active lieutenant with the Houston Police Department, and he said police in blue cities are tired of facing hostility from local leaders. Advertisement 'What we've seen is really a mass exodus of police officers leaving far-left cities for basically greener pastures,' he told Fox News Digital. 'Because, ultimately, people want to feel appreciated for what they do, and when you have a boss — in this case, mayors or city councils, who regularly call you a piece of crap to the public — why would anyone stay?' Florida is one example of a Republican-led state that has benefited from the mass departures. 5 'What we've seen is really a mass exodus of police officers leaving far-left cities for basically greener pastures,' Joe Gamaldi said. AP Advertisement According to a 2024 statement from former Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, the state welcomed 5,000 law enforcement recruits between 2022 and last year, and 1,200 of them came from out of state. 'Florida is the most pro-law enforcement state in the nation because we back our blue,' Moody said at the time. 'We've been spreading the word about all the great incentives to join our ranks, and individuals like the new Sarasota recruits have answered the call, leaving behind places where their service was not as appreciated as it is here.' She said she was 'as inspired as ever to continue doing all we can to show our support to those who bravely protect and serve' after seeing the influx of police officers into the state. 5 Florida welcomed 5,000 law enforcement recruits between 2022 and last year, and 1,200 of them came from out of state. Fox News Digital Advertisement Gamaldi said officers are also moving to cities that may lean blue but are in red states and still have the support of elected leadership and the community, adding officers are 'voting with their feet.' 'We're also seeing it [in] Texas in Houston, which is a city that leans a little blue, but they have been supportive of police officers,' he said. 'The mayor there has given a massive raise to police officers. You're seeing officers go there. You're seeing officers go to Dallas. So, you're seeing all these communities, and there's one common thread. It's 'We support police officers.'' Gamaldi emphasized that the trend began after the 2020 defund the police movement and said, in many cities, law enforcement officers are afraid to do their jobs in 'critical incident' situations, even when they do them by the book. 5 Gamaldi said officers are also moving to cities that may lean blue but are in red states and still have the support of elected leadership and the community. LightRocket via Getty Images Advertisement 'I think you can look no further than Seattle, Portland, Chicago [and] New York,' he said. 'All of these cities have basically told their police officers, 'We don't support you. We're not gonna be there for you when you need us. We're gonna try to defund you when given the opportunity.' 'I mean, my goodness, right now, one of the mayoral candidates for New York has actively said he wants to defund and dismantle the police department,' Gamaldi said, referring to socialist Zohran Mamdani, who has been open with his anti-police rhetoric. 5 'I mean, my goodness, right now, one of the mayoral candidates for New York has actively said he wants to defund and dismantle the police department,' Gamaldi said Zohran Mamdani /X Blue cities, Gamaldi said, are worse off for driving out their police forces. 'Look at the mass exodus of experience in solving cases and experience of just mentoring the next generation of police officers,' he said. 'I mean, the damage that was done in 2020 with the defund the police movement, rhat's going to reverberate for decades. You don't just recover from something like that when you have all of that experience walking out the door.' 5 Gamaldi emphasized that the trend began after the 2020 defund the police movement. Christopher Sadowski He also pointed to better pay and other financial perks, like cities covering moving expenses, as reasons law enforcement officers are moving away from far-left areas. Ultimately, he posed a question to those who patrol the streets where they are unappreciated, saying, 'Why not leave?' Advertisement 'To anyone watching this right now,' Gamaldi said, 'if your boss was constantly telling you [that] you're doing a horrible job, and, in addition, if you were following the exact policies, training and the law of your job, and yet they are still demonizing you, still throwing you under the bus, still trying to indict you, why the hell would you stay?'
Yahoo
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Blue city officers flocking to cop-friendly red states, police leader says: ‘Why would anyone stay?'
Law enforcement officers in areas primarily run by Democrats continue to flock to red states for job security, better pay and bosses who will back them up, according to one police leader. Joe Gamaldi is the national vice president of the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP). He is an active lieutenant with the Houston Police Department, and he said police in blue cities are tired of facing hostility from local leaders. "What we've seen is really a mass exodus of police officers leaving far-left cities for basically greener pastures," he told Fox News Digital. "Because, ultimately, people want to feel appreciated for what they do, and when you have a boss — in this case, mayors or city councils, who regularly call you a piece of crap to the public — why would anyone stay?" Defund Movement Faces 'Absolute Rejection' As Murders Drop And Police Budgets Climb: Law Enforcement Group Florida is one example of a Republican-led state that has benefited from the mass departures. Read On The Fox News App According to a 2024 statement from former Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, the state welcomed 5,000 law enforcement recruits between 2022 and last year, and 1,200 of them came from out of state. "Florida is the most pro-law enforcement state in the nation because we back our blue," Moody said at the time. "We've been spreading the word about all the great incentives to join our ranks, and individuals like the new Sarasota recruits have answered the call, leaving behind places where their service was not as appreciated as it is here." She said she was "as inspired as ever to continue doing all we can to show our support to those who bravely protect and serve" after seeing the influx of police officers into the state. Gamaldi said officers are also moving to cities that may lean blue but are in red states and still have the support of elected leadership and the community, adding officers are "voting with their feet." "We're also seeing it [in] Texas in Houston, which is a city that leans a little blue, but they have been supportive of police officers," he said. "The mayor there has given a massive raise to police officers. You're seeing officers go there. You're seeing officers go to Dallas. So, you're seeing all these communities, and there's one common thread. It's 'We support police officers.'" Gamaldi emphasized that the trend began after the 2020 defund the police movement and said, in many cities, law enforcement officers are afraid to do their jobs in "critical incident" situations, even when they do them by the book. "I think you can look no further than Seattle, Portland, Chicago [and] New York," he said. "All of these cities have basically told their police officers, 'We don't support you. We're not gonna be there for you when you need us. We're gonna try to defund you when given the opportunity.' Trump Backs Local Police In New Executive Order, Rebukes Democrat Crime Policies That Sowed 'Chaos' Across Us "I mean, my goodness, right now, one of the mayoral candidates for New York has actively said he wants to defund and dismantle the police department," Gamaldi said, referring to socialist Zohran Mamdani, who has been open with his anti-police rhetoric. Blue cities, Gamaldi said, are worse off for driving out their police forces. "Look at the mass exodus of experience in solving cases and experience of just mentoring the next generation of police officers," he said. "I mean, the damage that was done in 2020 with the defund the police movement, rhat's going to reverberate for decades. You don't just recover from something like that when you have all of that experience walking out the door." He also pointed to better pay and other financial perks, like cities covering moving expenses, as reasons law enforcement officers are moving away from far-left areas. Ultimately, he posed a question to those who patrol the streets where they are unappreciated, saying, "Why not leave?" "To anyone watching this right now," Gamaldi said, "if your boss was constantly telling you [that] you're doing a horrible job, and, in addition, if you were following the exact policies, training and the law of your job, and yet they are still demonizing you, still throwing you under the bus, still trying to indict you, why the hell would you stay?"Original article source: Blue city officers flocking to cop-friendly red states, police leader says: 'Why would anyone stay?'
