(AP) – A former police officer was convicted Monday of murder for shooting Andre Hill, a black man who was holding a cellphone and keys when he was killed.

Officer Adam Coy, who served nearly 20 years on the Columbus police force, shot Hill four times in a garage nearly four years ago. Coy, who is white, was fired after the shooting. He told the jury he thought Hill was holding a silver revolver that turned out to be keys.

“I thought I was going to die,” he testified. It was only after rolling over Hill’s body and seeing the keys that he realized there was no gun, Coy said through tears. “At that moment I knew I had made a mistake. “I was horrified.”

Coy, who was partially hidden from view by his grim-faced attorneys, did not visibly react to the verdict, but gasps could be heard in the courtroom when it was announced. Prosecutors asked that the former officer be sentenced immediately. Instead, Franklin County Judge Stephen McIntosh set the sentencing date for Nov. 25.

Coy, who is receiving cancer treatments for Hodgkin’s lymphoma, was devastated, said defense attorney Mark Collins, who shook his head slightly as the verdict was read and later vowed to appeal.

Police body camera footage showed Hill leaving the garage of a friend’s house holding a cellphone in his left hand, his right hand not visible, seconds before Coy fatally shot him. Nearly 10 minutes passed before officers at the scene began helping Hill, who lay bleeding on the garage floor. He was pronounced dead at a hospital.

Weeks after the December 2020 shooting, the mayor forced the police chief to resign following a series of deadly police shootings against Black men and boys. Columbus subsequently reached a $10 million settlement with the Hill family, the largest in the city’s history. The Columbus City Council also passed Andre’s Law, which requires police officers to provide immediate medical attention to an injured suspect.

Prosecutors said Hill, 47, had followed the officer’s orders and was never a threat to Coy, who now faces at least 15 years in prison. The jury also found him guilty of reckless homicide and felonious assault.

“They teach us, ‘Do what the police tell you and you can survive that encounter,’” Franklin County Deputy Prosecutor Anthony Pierson said during closing arguments. “That’s not what happened here.”

Shawna Barnett, one of Hill’s sisters, hoped the jury’s decision would send a message that police violence will not be tolerated.

“It’s been too long, but I’m glad it’s over,” he said. “It’s time to stop. It’s time to make everything fair.”

Brian Steel, president of the Columbus police union, said he was shocked by the murder conviction and said it would have knock-on effects for officers in Ohio and beyond.

“Your split-second decision now can lead to murder,” he said. “It’s absolutely crazy.”

“Officers are willing to die for their community, they’re willing to die for this job,” Steel said. “They don’t want to go to prison for this job.”

The officer’s attorneys argued that Hill’s lack of a gun didn’t matter because Coy thought his life was in danger. “It wasn’t reckless, it was reasonable,” Collins said during the trial.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who has represented Hill’s family, said the verdict showed that no one is above the law and sent a message that “accountability in law enforcement is not optional.” “.

“Andre was an innocent, unarmed man, and his life was taken with no regard for the duty to protect and serve,” Crump said in a statement.

Coy had gone to the neighborhood to investigate a complaint about someone inside a moving vehicle when he first encountered Hill sitting in a pickup truck. Hill told Coy he was waiting for a friend to come out.

The officer said he thought Hill seemed dismissive and then suspicious after he walked up to a house and knocked on the door before entering the garage.

Coy said he lost sight of Hill and suspected he might be trying to force his way into the house. Coy used a flashlight to locate Hill in the garage and told him to get out, the officer testified.

When Hill walked toward him, Coy said he couldn’t see the man’s right hand and then saw what he thought was a revolver. He said he yelled, “Gun! Gun!” and then shot Hill.

Family and friends said Hill, a father and grandfather, was devoted to his family and was a skilled businessman who dreamed of one day owning his own restaurant, after years of working as a chef and restaurant manager.

Coy had a long history of resident complaints, with more than three dozen filed against him since he joined the department in 2002, according to his personnel file. A dozen complaints were for use of force. All but a few were marked “unfounded” or “not sustained.”

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