'I thought I was going to die': Former police officer testifies at murder trial

Former constabulary serviceman Adam Coy took nan witnesser guidelines astatine his murder trial Monday and told a assemblage that he believed Andre Hill was astir to sprout him pinch a metallic revolver erstwhile he opened occurrence connected nan 47-year-old unarmed Black man successful nan acheronian car shed of a Columbus, Ohio, home.

"I thought I was going to die," an affectional Coy, a erstwhile personnel of nan Columbus Division of Police, testified astir nan fatal brushwood pinch Hill connected Dec. 22, 2020.

After firing 4 shots and approaching Hill, who laic bleeding to decease connected nan level of nan garage, Coy said he searched for nan weapon he thought Hill was wielding only to find a ample group of keys, an illuminated compartment telephone and a battalion of cigarettes adjacent his body.

"I sewage up to a constituent wherever I was opinionated adjacent to Mr. Hill and I rolled him back," Coy testified. "I commencement to look for wherever nan weapon was and I seen a heap of keys location and I said, 'F---.' I knew astatine that constituent I made a mistake."

The 47-year-old Coy took nan witnesser guidelines Monday aft nan prosecution rested its case. Franklin County prosecutors called conscionable six witnesses complete 3 days and showed nan assemblage seated successful Franklin County Court of Common Pleas constabulary body-camera video that captured Coy shooting Hill, who was emerging from a friend's car shed holding a compartment phone.

Former Columbus, Ohio, constabulary serviceman Adam Coy wipes tears from his eyes during his grounds connected Oct. 28, 2024, astatine his execution proceedings stemming from nan fatal 2020 shooting of Andre Hill.

Pool/ABC News

Prosecutors are expected to put connected a rebuttal case, calling an master witnesser successful constabulary training, erstwhile nan defense rests.

Coy, who is white, is facing charges of murder, felonious battle and reckless homicide. He has pleaded not guilty.

If convicted, Coy faces a condemnation of life successful situation without nan anticipation of parole.

‘Something's not adding up here'

Under questioning from his defense lawyer Mark Collins, Coy said he responded to a non-emergency title of a suspicious conveyance parked successful nan thoroughfare astatine 1:30 a.m. pinch its motor turning connected and off.

Coy testified that erstwhile he sewage to nan scene, he approached nan conveyance nan 911 caller directed him to.

Coy said that arsenic he approached nan car, nan driver, who turned retired to beryllium Hill, rolled down nan model and held retired a compartment phone.

"The driver says that 'I'm waiting for personification to travel out. They're going to beryllium retired successful a second,'" Coy testified.

Coy said he wished Hill a "good evening" and went backmost to his patrol car and waited for nan personification to travel retired and meet Hill.

"He seemed wide-eyed, a small jittery and dismissive of me," Coy said of Hill. "He wanted to break interaction pinch maine arsenic soon arsenic he could."

Coy testified that aft a fewer minutes, Hill sewage retired of his car and went up to nan beforehand structure of a location and banged connected nan door, but sewage nary answer.

He said Hill past walked backmost to his conveyance and rummaged done nan beforehand spot earlier going backmost to nan location and knocking connected nan doorway again.

Coy said he asked Hill, "What's going on?" But Hill ignored him.

He said Hill kept looking backmost complete his enarthrosis astatine him nan 2nd clip he went to nan beforehand doorway of nan location and knocked, again getting nary answer.

“It makes you commencement to think, 'What is this person’s intention?'" Coy testified. "With nan totality of everything that’s going connected astatine this point, I’m starting to stitchery much reasonable suspicion location is simply a crime going connected and he’s not being truthful pinch me."

He testified that by nan clip his colleague, Officer Amy Detweiler, arrived astatine nan scene, he had mislaid way of Hill and that nan 2 officers decided to locomotion up nan driveway of nan location to find Hill's whereabouts.

Coy testified that he did not person his weapon drawn arsenic he and Detweiler walked up nan driveway.

He said he shined his flashlight into a acheronian unfastened car shed looking for Hill.

"Approximately astatine this clip I spot a ray flicker astatine nan backmost of nan garage. Maybe 2 aliases 3 steps up nan driveway, I spot a flicker debased to nan crushed successful nan backmost area of nan garage," Coy testified.

When he pointed his flashlight toward nan flickering light, he testified, "Mr. Hill is crouched down successful nan backmost righthand area of nan garage."

“I radiance my flashlight connected him and I say, ‘Something's not adding up here. Come retired here, show yourself,'" Coy testified.

'It was nan worst nighttime of my life'

Coy said Hill walked toward him holding up successful his near manus his illuminated compartment phone. But Coy testified that Hill was stepping adjacent to a car parked successful nan car shed and that he couldn't spot nan man's correct side.

Coy claimed that Hill was "blading," aliases had taken a "stance for illustration a boxer would return if they're going to get into a fight." He said he believed that Hill was holding up his compartment telephone arsenic "a distraction."

He said he could yet spot Hill's correct broadside erstwhile Hill reached nan rear of nan car parked successful nan garage.

"When he turns toward you, what do you see?" Collins asked.

Coy responded, "A metallic revolver successful his correct hand." Coy said it appeared that Hill was raising nan weapon up from down his limb and "it was coming up astatine me."

"I drew my gun," Coy said. "I yelled, 'Gun! Gun!' and I fired 4 shots."

Collins asked, "Why did you occurrence 4 shots?"

Coy answered, "That's what stopped it."

Coy testified that erstwhile he realized he was mistaken astir what was successful Hill's correct hand, he felt, "horrified."

"It was nan worst nighttime of my life," Coy testified. "I went successful shock. I started barren heaving. I couldn't power myself. I couldn't deliberation straight. Everything conscionable went arsenic a blur to me."

Coy ended his nonstop testimony, saying, "I saw an imminent threat and I didn't want to get changeable correct earlier Christmas."

The proceedings is expected to proceed connected Tuesday.