A white police officer shot an unarmed black man in Columbus, Ohio on Tuesday. Pictures of police excessive brutality caused quite a stir in the city, with a similar incident occurring in early December.
At night from Monday to Tuesday, the officers came to a harassment report: Someone is starting and stopping the vehicle for a longer period of time.
André Morris Hill, 47, was only visiting someone in Columbus when the officers approached him. The footage shows that he got out of the garage with a phone in hand when the policeman shot him. Hill died in the hospital an hour later.
Police then said that no weapons were found at the site and there were no indications that the victim had committed a criminal offense.
Both agents neglected to operate their camera upon arrival at the scene. They only did so after Hill was shot. Thanks to the special function of body cameras, images can be replayed up to one minute before the actual start of operation, so that the fatal shot of the operator is still recorded.
The police chief wants the officer involved to resign
Columbus Police Chief Thomas Quinlan described the incident as “a tragedy on many levels.” This should not have happened, and it should not have happened.
According to Quinlan, the officer in question is guilty of committing excessive fatal violence and failing to provide assistance to the bullet victim, and must therefore be expelled immediately.
The city prosecutor is investigating police brutality. On Monday, during the hearing, it will be decided whether to accept the police chief’s recommendation. The officer was previously suspended.
The second victim of police violence in a short time
Hill is the second victim of police brutality in Columbus in a short time. On December 4, 23-year-old Casey Christopher Goodson was shot dead by a policeman in front of his grandmother’s house. Hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets after the death to protest against police brutality.
Mayor Andrew J. Ginter: “Our society is still hurting and ending with the murder of George Floyd, Briona Taylor and more recently Casey Goodson here in Columbus.”
Among other things, the killing of George Floyd, a black American killed by a policeman, sparked a wave of protests against police brutality and racism in the United States, dubbed “Black Lives Matter.”
