Adam Coy takes the stand in his own defense at murder trial

Collins called upon the defense’s second witness, Adam Coy, to testify. Coy said when he was dispatched to Oberlin Drive, he was told a silver SUV was turning on and off over the course of a few hours and a caller was concerned.

When he arrived and approached Hill’s vehicle, Hill rolled down his window and showed him his cell phone. Coy said the phone had text messages pulled up, but he was unable to read them. According to Coy, Hill told him he was waiting to pick someone up and they would be out shortly.

Coy said he noticed the silver SUV’s dark tinted windows and numerous objects in the car. He also claimed Hill seemed “wide-eyed and jittery,” and like he wanted to break contact with him quickly.

According to Coy’s testimony, he ran the silver SUV’s license plate, and it was not registered to Oberlin Drive. Coy said he then observed Hill “bang” on the front door of a house — no one answered. Coy said Hill “repeatedly” knocked again, and at this point he thought “something is not adding up.” Coy then saw Hill return to his car, and retrieve something from his vehicle. Hill began walking toward the house again when Coy asked him what was going on, but Coy said Hill did not reply. Coy claimed Hill kept looking back at him as he walked toward the house.

Coy testified as he approached the home, he saw a flicker of light in a dark garage. He got his flashlight out and observed Hill “crouched down” in the back corner of the garage, facing toward the house. Coy said he then ordered Hill to “show himself,” claiming he did not have his weapon drawn at this point.

Coy said Hill did not immediately come out of the garage, and did not verbally reply. He said when Hill began coming toward him with his phone held up, he could not see his right side. Coy said at that moment he thought Hill was holding up his phone as a “distraction.” As Hill got closer, Coy testified he believed he saw a silver revolver in his hand and thought he was going to die. Coy said he drew his weapon when Hill was walking toward him and he saw the silver glint of metal.

As he recounted the events, he became visibly emotional. Coy said as soon as he saw the keys near Hill after the shooting, he knew he was mistaken and was horrified. He described the early morning hours of the shooting as “the worst night of [his] life.”

Pierson cross-examined Coy, pointing out that Hill voluntarily interacted with Coy and told him what he was doing in the neighborhood. Pierson asked Coy if Oberlin Drive is a public street that Hill was legally allowed to be on, to which Coy responded yes.

Pierson asked Coy if Hill obeyed his commands, to which he responded “partially.” Pierson emphasized that Hill walked out of the garage when he was asked. He questioned why Coy did not call for backup or ask for Hill’s name in order to look him up if he had safety concerns. Pierson asked if at any point in the encounter Coy told Hill to show him his hands, to which Coy replied he did not have time.

Stephens called upon the defense’s first witness, retired law enforcement officer Kevin Davis, to testify. Davis has experience as an instructor at the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy, specifically teaching courses on use of force. Davis has testified in federal court cases, and is known as an expert in “nationally recognized police practices.”

Davis testified that Coy’s actions were consistent with nationally recognized police practices. Davis said he believes Coy had reasonable suspicion based on Hill’s behavior — such as appearing “fidgety” and knocking on a door with no response — and therefore an obligation to investigate. He testified if an officer “perceives” their life is in danger, deadly force is an appropriate response in accordance with national police standards.

Davis testified under stress, officers can get tunnel vision and focus in on a perceived threat. He stated the garage Hill was in was dark, and the officers had limited visibility even with a flashlight.

Pierson cross-examined Davis, pointing out that Davis’ analysis heavily relies on Coy’s statement, which could be different than what “actually happened.” Pierson asked if Hill posed an immediate threat to Coy, to which Davis replied “in hindsight,” Hill did not. Pierson also asked if Coy had probable cause to arrest Hill, to which Davis replied he did not. Davis testified an individual is allowed to walk away from an officer during a consensual police stop.

Coy’s defense made a motion for dismissal of the reckless homicide and felonious assault charges, stating the prosecution did not introduce any evidence when presenting their case that shows Coy acted recklessly or knowingly caused serious bodily harm to Hill.

The prosecution argued against the dismissal, stating Coy not giving any orders before shooting Hill constitutes recklessness, and that he clearly knew he was going to cause serious harm when shooting his firearm.

McIntosh stated there is significant evidence on the record for jurors to consider both reckless homicide and felonious assault charges, rejecting the defense’s request.

The jury selection process began on Monday, Oct. 21, continued through Tuesday and wrapped up on Wednesday afternoon, when 12 jurors and four alternates were sworn in. Jurors were then taken to view the scene where Coy shot Hill.

Opening statements took place on Thursday, with attorneys revealing that Coy and Hill had interacted before the shooting. When Coy initially arrived at the scene, he approached Hill’s vehicle. It was then the prosecution claimed that Hill showed Coy a text on his phone indicating that he was waiting to meet with someone. The defense claimed during this interaction, Hill was “wide-eyed and jittery.”

The prosecution called two witnesses to the stand Thursday. The man who called the police about Hill’s car was the first to testify, followed by Amy Detweiler, the officer who was with Coy at the time of the shooting.

Detweiler’s testimony continued into Friday, before the prosecution called both a responding Columbus police officer and medic to the stand to discuss what happened in the moments after the shooting. A crime scene investigator walked the jury through a plethora of crime scene photos, and a forensic pathologist discussed the injuries Hill faced in the shooting.

On Dec. 22, 2020, Columbus police received a nonemergency call reporting a suspicious vehicle in the 1000 block of Oberlin Drive on the northwest side of the city. Coy, a 19-year veteran of the force, and fellow officer Amy Detweiler responded to the report around 1:50 a.m., when they spotted an open garage and walked toward it with their flashlights on.

Hill, who was later determined to be a guest at the home, was in the garage. Body camera video shows he began walking toward officers with a brightly lit phone screen held up in one hand, while his other hand was at his side and not clearly visible. It was then that Coy shot Hill, striking him four times. Less than nine seconds passed from the time Hill was illuminated by a flashlight to when he was shot.

Coy did not turn on his body camera until after the shooting. Due to a lookback feature that retained the previous 60 seconds of video without any audio, the shooting was captured. However, what was said before shots were fired was not recorded.

During a later interview completed by the police department, Detweiler claimed that Coy asked Hill to exit the garage using a normal tone and Hill did not say anything in response, but turned and walked out of the garage. She revealed she did not see a gun or observe any threats from Hill but heard Coy yell, “There’s a gun in his other hand! There’s a gun in his other hand!” just before firing.

Multiple officers arrived about five minutes after Hill was shot, and roughly another five minutes passed before an officer gave Hill any medical assistance. He was transported to a local hospital and pronounced dead at 2:35 a.m. No weapon was recovered at the scene. Approximately one week after the shooting, Coy was fired from the Columbus Division of Police.

In October 2021, Coy’s trial was set for March 2022. However, over the course of years, the trial has been delayed three times due to Coy’s battle with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He is now considered healthy enough to stand trial.