Ohio

Former Ohio police officer found guilty of shooting an unarmed black man

Published

1 year ago

November 4, 2024

Former Ohio police officer found guilty of shooting an unarmed black man

Andre Hill was holding his phone while walking toward a police officer when he was fatally shot

A jury in the United States has found a former police officer guilty in the state of Ohio four years after he shot a Black man holding keys and a phone in a garage.

Officer Adam Coy, who shot Andre Hill four times in 2020, faces at least 15 years in prison after the jury verdict on Monday.

Prosecutors asked that the former officer be sentenced immediately, but the judge set a sentencing date of November 25 instead.

Coy, who is white and had served 20 years on the Columbus, Ohio police force, told jurors that he thought Hill was holding a silver revolver.

“I thought I was going to die,” he testified. It was only after he rolled over Hill’s body and saw the keys that he realised there was no gun, Coy said. “I knew at that point I made a mistake. I was horrified.”

According to a police body cam recording, 47-year-old Hill was walking out of a friend’s garage, holding his phone in his left hand while his right hand was not visible, just seconds before he was shot.

It took ten minutes for police to provide aid to Hill, who lay bleeding on the floor of the garage. He was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Prosecutors argued that Hill, a father and grandfather, followed Coy’s commands and was never a threat to the police officer.

During the trial, Coy’s lawyers said that Hill’s lack of a weapon didn’t matter because the police officer thought his life was in danger. He had gone to the neighbourhood because of complaints about someone inside a running vehicle.

Police shootings

The conviction is the latest in a series of highly controversial incidents in the US involving white officers and Black victims. Brett Hankison, a former police officer in the state of Kentucky, was convicted last week of violating the civil rights of Breonna Taylor, a Black woman whose death in a police raid ignited racial justice protests across the United States in 2020.

Taylor was shot to death by officers acting on a no-knock warrant.

Hankison was convicted on one count of civil rights abuse on Friday, with a 12-member federal jury determining that he used excessive force on Taylor during the raid.

Changes in policing

Coy was fired shortly after the fatal shooting, and the ensuing controversy over Hill’s death led to changes in the city’s policing.

The mayor forced the city’s police chief to resign after a series of fatal police shootings of Black men and children.

Columbus later reached a $10m settlement with Hill’s family, the largest in the city’s history. The Columbus City Council also passed Andre’s Law, which requires police officers to render immediate medical attention to an injured suspect.

The settlement announcement followed other large payouts by US cities over the killing of Black people by white officers.

The city of Minneapolis reached a $27m settlement with the family of George Floyd ahead of the trial of Derek Chauvin, the white former officer charged in Floyd’s death.

The city of Louisville, Kentucky, agreed to pay Breonna Taylor’s family $12m and reform police practices.

Source link

Click to comment

Ohio

Which central Ohio girls wrestlers advanced to OHSAA state tournament?

Published

1 hour ago

March 9, 2026

Press Room

Which central Ohio girls wrestlers advanced to OHSAA state tournament?

The Olentangy Orange girls wrestling team pulled away on day two of the district tournament for its fourth consecutive title since the Ohio High School Athletic Association added the sport in 2023 and sixth overall.

The Pioneers (183) finished ahead of runner-up Marysville (131) on March 8 at Big Walnut. The top four finishers in each weight class advanced to state March 13-15 at Value City Arena.

“It gets tougher every year,” Orange coach Brian Nicola said. “This is one the toughest districts in the state. You have all these great teams here and everyone comes in ready to battle. The girls wrestled really hard, so I was very excited.”

Mackenzie Carder (120 pounds) and Lacie Knick (130) won titles for Orange, which will have eight wrestlers at state as its seeks a third consecutive title in that tournament.

Marysville has five state qualifiers, led by 100-pound district champion Avery Riley.

Canal Winchester senior Razilee Wisseh advanced to her fourth state tournament and earned her 150th career win, beating Gahanna Lincoln’s Jordan Mills 9-4 in the 170 final.

Here are the central Ohio state qualifiers from the girls district tournament. When four qualifiers are listed for a weight class, they are in order of finish.

100: Avery Riley (Marysville), Kenleigh Ballance (Pickerington North), Mila Cruz (Watkins Memorial), Aaliyah Dawson (Reynoldsburg)

105: Hali Rayburn (Hilliard Bradley, third), Ellianna Perry (Watkins Memorial, fourth)

110: Ashlynn Brokaw (Mount Vernon, first), Andrea Acheampong (DeSales, third), Delaney Tackett (Orange, fourth)

115: Reagan Johnson (Thomas Worthington, first), Arden Heckman (Westerville North, third), Malaya DiMasso (Olentangy Liberty, fourth)

120: Mackenzie Carder (Orange, first), Cami Leng (Marysville, second), Skylar McCuen (Olentangy, fourth)

125: Kendleigh Dowalter (Grove City), Kara Hockenbery (West Jefferson), Kelly Lemons (Bradley), Sarah Amonette (Orange)

130: Lacie Knick (Orange, first), Mina Gee (Gahanna Lincoln, second), Payton Morse (Watkins Memorial, third)

135: Adison Justice (Licking Valley, first), Chloe Tompkins (Orange, second), Katelyn Norris (Big Walnut, third)

140: Nora Johnson (Hartley, second), Alanna Smith (Orange, third), Cara Leng (Marysville, fourth)

145: Reese Thomas (Jonathan Alder, first), Tara Davis (Orange, second), Andrea Mendez (Marysville, third)

155: KyLee Tibbs (Gahanna, first), Maya Keane (Hartley, second), Tamia Davis (Orange, third), Brielle Proffitt (Watkins Memorial, fourth)

170: Razilee Wisseh (Canal Winchester), Jordan Mills (Gahanna), Grace Glandorff (Bradley), Evelyn Krauss (Delaware Hayes)

190: Mykah Bailey (Gahanna, first), Abbey Enders (Liberty, second), Emma Bolton (Highland, third)

235: Tara Nagel (Madison-Plains, first), Maci Lee (Marysville, fourth)

High school sports reporter Frank DiRenna can be reached at fdirenna@dispatch.com and at @DispatchFrank on X.

Source link

Ohio

Which central Ohio boys wrestlers advanced to OHSAA state tournament?

Published

13 hours ago

March 8, 2026

Press Room

Which central Ohio boys wrestlers advanced to OHSAA state tournament?

The Dublin Coffman boys wrestling team continued its dominance in central Ohio at the Division I level, winning its eighth consecutive district title March 7 at Hilliard Darby.

The Shamrocks scored a tournament-record 263.5 points in the two-day event, easily outdistancing runner-up Olentangy Liberty (153.5). Coffman set the previous record of 247 in 2022.

Coffman had six champions and qualified 10 wrestlers for the state tournament March 13-15 at Value City Arena.

The top four wrestlers in each weight class advanced.

“The [tournament] record was a good goal for the team to set,” Coffman coach Chance Van Gundy said. “We just have to wrestle our best [at state] and see where that lands us.”

In Division II at Wilmington, DeSales won the title (230.5) ahead of CCL rival and defending state champion Watterson (212).

DeSales had three champions and qualified nine wrestlers for state, while Watterson had four champions and advanced eight to state.

“The guys wrestled tough from whistle to whistle,” DeSales coach Collin Palmer said. “Some of them had to dig deep and figure out ways to win matches, and they did just that.”

Here are the central Ohio state qualifiers from the boys district tournaments. When four qualifiers are listed for a weight class, they are in order of finish.

Division I (Hilliard Darby)

106 pounds: Jacob Willaman (Olentangy Berlin), Ryan Noble (Watkins Memorial), Cole Perry (Olentangy Liberty), Ricky Molasso-Matessa (Upper Arlington)

113: Loc Webber (Dublin Coffman), Zac Dodt (Thomas Worthington), Trevor Bridges (Teays Valley), Brian Waller (Marysville)

120: Oliver Lester (Coffman), Brady Todd (Worthington Kilbourne), Nick Coverstone (Hilliard Darby), Mason Spence (Westerville North)

126: Tommy Wurster (Coffman), Josh Zimmer (Teays Valley), Jake Shirck (New Albany), Cole Dodson (UA)

132: Blaze Van Gundy (Coffman), Jack Williams (Marysville), Grant Sedlick (UA), Maddux Nauman (Berlin)

138: Finnegan Cox (Delaware Hayes), Preston Schuler (Olentangy), Alex Mickens (Liberty), Brayden Becker-Shaw (Berlin)

144: Huggy Williams (Liberty), Trent Sharp (Marysville), Austin Rohrbach (Hilliard Bradley), Isaiah Callahan (Coffman)

150: Aiden Milam (Liberty), Cash Clark (Berlin), Landon Moses (Olentangy), Daksh Adengada (Dublin Jerome)

157: Eli Esguerra (Coffman), Mavrik Gregory (Mount Vernon), Carter Shank (Marysville), Jacob Ramirez (Central Crossing)

165: Grayson Woodcock (Coffman), Chase Cone (Berlin), Keegen Andrews (Marysville), Derek Deichert (Westerville South)

175: Kile Sentieri (Marion Harding), Rylan Moran (Westerville Central), Gauge Woods (Bradley), Hamde Bakeye (Whitehall-Yearling)

190: Dylan Frass (Liberty), Michael Feeney (Coffman), Luke Mullins (Mount Vernon), Peter Graham (Teays Valley)

215: Logan Krooner (Darby), Mason Parrill (Coffman), Jackson Lane (Liberty), Cooper Frye (Delaware)

Heavyweight: Daniel Stephens (Olentangy), Tyson Keyes (Darby), Braylon Wright (Coffman), WoJo Moore (Watkins Memorial)

Division II

Wilmington

106: Mark Mobley (DeSales, first), Sid Hunt (Watterson, second)

113: Henry Geiger (Granville, third)

120: Rayce Watson (Jonathan Alder, first), Eddie Vitu (DeSales, second), Nash Finley (Granville, third)

126: Josh Sheets (DeSales, first), Anthony Bergeron (Granville, second), Elias Kline (Bloom-Carroll, fourth)

138: Grayson Debevoise (DeSales, first), Thomas Lindsay (Watterson, second)

144: Blake Eckelbarger (DeSales, second)

150: James Lindsay (Watterson, first), Reed Bodie (DeSales, second)

157: Tommy Rowlands (Watterson, first), Jonah Jenkins (DeSales, second)

165: Luke Sanchez (Granville, second), Joel Welch (DeSales, third), Miles D’Orazio (Watterson, fourth)

175: Paul Byerly (Jonathan Alder, fourth)

190: Landon Lucas (Watterson, second)

215: Michael Boyle (Watterson, first), Tanner Arledge (DeSales, second)

Heavyweight: A.J. DeMassimo (Watterson, first)

Norwalk

106: Brody Miller (Licking Valley, third)

113: Vincent Martiah (Hartley, second)

120: Brady Byler, (Highland, third)

126: Joe Curry (Licking Valley, first), Carson Schehl (Lakewood, second)

138: Ayden Douglas (Licking Valley, second)

144: Kasey Clark (Highland, third)

165: Cael Gilmore (Highland, first)

215: Joe Zang (Hartley, fourth)

Gallipolis

106: Kevin Downing (Circleville, fourth)

190: Eli Wright (Westfall, second)

Division III

Coshocton

113: Conner Wygle (Utica, second)

Troy

106: Parker Frakes (Liberty Union, fourth)

113: Rocco Castricone (Mount Gilead, third)

138: Jimmy Landis (Liberty Union, third)

165: Rylan Puckett (West Jefferson, second)

190: Bobby Kapala (Ready, second)

215: Ayden Cordle (West Jefferson, fourth)

High school sports reporter Frank DiRenna can be reached at fdirenna@dispatch.com and at @DispatchFrank on X.

Source link

Ohio

At the Buzzer: Ohio State 91, Indiana 78

Published

1 day ago

March 8, 2026

Press Room

At the Buzzer: Ohio State 91, Indiana 78

Quick thoughts on a 91-78 loss at Ohio State:

How it happened

Indiana’s defense was non-existent in the first half of Saturday’s regular-season finale at Ohio State. The Buckeyes feasted on a soft Hoosier defense, scoring 50 points on 67.9 percent shooting from the field. Ohio State scored 1.46 points per possession and led 50-33, the largest halftime deficit for Indiana in a game this season. The Buckeyes were red hot from the perimeter, shooting 8-for-13 on 3s. Three different Ohio State players scored in double figures – Amare Bynum with 14, Bruce Thornton with 12 and John Mobley Jr. with 11. For Indiana, it was a half to forget offensively as well. The Hoosiers shot 1-for-8 on 3s and committed eight turnovers.

Things didn’t get better early in the second half, as the Buckeyes extended their margin early in the half. Ohio State stretched the lead to 24 points at 69-45 on a pair of Thornton free throws with 12:18 to play. The Hoosiers, however, didn’t fold completely and made five of seven shots to cut the deficit to 15 points at 73-58 by the under-eight media timeout. Indiana then trimmed the lead to 13 at 81-68 with 4:48 left on a pair of Tucker DeVries free throws and then to 11 at 81-70 on a DeVries layup with 4:03 to play. The Hoosiers, however, would get no closer than 10 down the stretch as they dropped a critical game and finished the regular season 18-13 overall and 9-11 in the Big Ten.

Standout performers

Lamar Wilkerson led Indiana with 18 points and now has the single-season record for points by a Hoosier in Big Ten play. DeVries added 17 points, five assists and three rebounds.

Statistics that stand out

The Hoosiers were carved up defensively as Ohio State scored 1.34 points per possession. The Buckeyes shot 11-for-24 on 3s and had five players score in double figures. The 91 points for Ohio State were the second-most in a Big Ten game this season for the Buckeyes.

Up next for IU

Indiana begins postseason play on Wednesday night in the 2026 Big Ten tournament at the United Center in Chicago. The Hoosiers will be the No. 10 seed and will play the winner of the No. 15 vs. No. 18 game at 6:30 p.m. ET on BTN on Wednesday.