The city of Columbus, Ohio has agreed to pay a $10 million settlement to the family of Andre Hill, a Black man who was fatally shot by a police officer last year.
City Attorney Zach Klein said that the settlement, which is the largest amount the city has ever agreed to pay, will be voted on by the City Council on Monday (May 17). “We understand that because of this former officer’s actions, the Hill family will never be whole,” Klein said. “No amount of money will ever bring Andre Hill back to his family, but we believe this is an important and necessary step in the right direction.”
According to CNN, as part of the settlement, the city also agreed to name a municipal gym after Hill. On Friday (May 14), Karissa, Hill’s daughter, told reporters that the settlement was the first step towards healing, but “it’s not full justice.”
“You guys all have to remember how my dad died,” she added. “He died on a 311 call, a non-emergency. He was shot four times and after the four times, he was laying on the floor. There were 22 officers on the scene. Nobody helped my father. The money is not even enough to help (with) the pain or anything of my dad laying on that floor.”
Last December, Hill was fatally shot while Officer Adam Coy and another cop responded to a call that a man had been sitting in his vehicle for a long time, frequently turning his engine on and off. Within seconds of arriving at the scene, Coy shot and killed Hill as he walked toward the officer with nothing but a cellphone in his hand. Coy turned his bodycam off after the shooting.
He was later fired from the department for Hill’s death and charged with murder, two counts of felony assault and two counts of dereliction of duty. Coy pleaded not guilty to the aforementioned charges.