On Monday (Nov. 4), Adam Coy, a former Ohio police officer, was convicted of murder in the fatal shooting of Andre Hill, a Black man holding a cellphone and keys, CBS News reported. 

Coy, who is white and served with the Columbus police for nearly 20 years, shot Hill four times. He was fired after the shooting and later told jurors he believed Hill was holding a silver revolver, which turned out to be keys. Police body camera footage showed Hill leaving a friend's garage with a cell phone in his left hand and his right hand not visible moments before Coy fired. Officers on the scene waited nearly 10 minutes before offering any aid to Hill, who lay bleeding on the garage floor. He was later pronounced dead at a hospital.

"I thought I was going to die," Coy testified, adding that it wasn’t until he rolled over Hill’s body and saw the keys that he realized there was no gun. "I knew at that point I made a mistake. I was horrified."

According to the outlet, prosecutors requested immediate sentencing. Still, the judge set the sentencing date for Nov. 25. Prosecutors also argued that Hill had complied with the officer’s commands and posed no threat to Coy, who now faces a minimum of 15 years in prison. The jury also convicted him of reckless homicide and felonious assault. Defense attorney Mark Collins said Coy, who is receiving cancer treatment for Hodgkin lymphoma, was devastated by the verdict and plans to appeal.

During closing arguments, Franklin County Assistant Prosecutor Anthony Pierson said, "We're taught to do what the cops tell you to do and you can survive that encounter. That's not what happened here."

Brian Steel, president of the Columbus police union, expressed shock at the murder conviction, suggesting it could have widespread effects on officers. "Your split-second decision can now be led to murder. It is absolutely insane... Officers are willing to die for their community, they do not want to go to prison for this job," he said.