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.

Early voting in Ohio began in October, but time is almost up if you want to cast your ballot before Nov. 5. Early in-person voting in Ohio ends on Sunday, Nov. 3.

Voting will not take place that Monday, Nov. 4, leaving only a few more days to vote early.

“The day before Election Day (Monday) has been eliminated as an early in-person voting day,” according to the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, meaning that this election season, Nov. 4 is no longer an early voting day.

Here’s what to know.

Sunday, Nov. 3 is the final day to vote early in-person in Ohio

According to the Ohio Secretary of State’s voting schedule, there’s no early voting on Monday Nov. 4, so voters only have until that Sunday, Nov. 3 to participate in early voting. Ohio is one of 18 states that allows voting on a Saturday and one of six states that allows early voting on a Sunday.

When time do polls open in Ohio for early voting?

For the remainder of the early voting period, polls for early voting are open from:

• Friday, Nov. 1: 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
• Saturday, Nov. 2: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Sunday, Nov. 3: 1 to 5 p.m.

When is the deadline to mail my absentee ballot?

While Oct. 29, was the deadline to request an absentee ballot by mail, they must be postmarked by Nov. 4 to be counted in the election.

When time do polls open in Ohio on Election Day?

In Ohio, polls are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Election Day.

Both candidates running for the U.S. Senate in Ohio made stops in the Miami Valley this weekend.

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As reported Sunday on News Center 7 at 11:00, people in the community came out to both campaigns to show support.

News Center 7′s Malik Patterson spoke with voters about how they feel about this tight Senate race.

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The incumbent Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown and Republican Bernie Moreno have raised a total of $98 million this election cycle.

Patterson was inside the Montgomery County Board of Elections on the final day of early voting. But voters he spoke with had questions about the Senate race and the funding.

“I would like to know how did they raise it? What type of fundraiser did they do to come up with that type of money?” asked Vonda Ford of Moraine.

She was shocked when Patterson told her about how much money both parties raised.

Senator Brown raised $76 million while Moreno raised $22 million.

Ford wants to know.

“Where is the money going towards?” she asked.

>> Ohio’s race for U.S. Senate rated as most expensive in the country; following the money

This weekend, News Center 7 went to both rallies where both candidates convinced their supporters to encourage more people to get out and vote.

Mr. Moreno was in Brookville on Saturday.

“It’s almost all done but the game is on the line,” he said.

Senator Brown was in on Sunday.

“I’m never going to say if we win, I’m always going to say when we win,” he told his supporters.

With the commercials and campaigning, some voters are tired of seeing the back and forth.

“It reminds me of a fifth-grade debate,” said Lisa Bigsgard.

She thinks the money raised could be used for other issues.

“I believe that the money should have gone to the vets that went and tried to save us. Now it’s time for us to save them,” she told Patterson.

Ford says Ohio has other problems that need to be addressed by whoever wins.

“The homeless shelters, the homeless people. I think it should be put towards there,” she said.

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