Columbus City reaches $10 million settlement with family of Black man gunned down by cop

The family of Andre Hill who was shot and killed by a cop in December of 2020 will receive $10 million from the Columbus City Council in a settlement described as the largest payment the city has ever had to agree.

On Monday evening, members of the city council voted to approve the deal that was proposed last week. The money will be paid to Hill’s family in two parts of $5 million – the first half will be paid by the end of this calendar year with the rest in the first quarter of 2022. Apart from this, a local gymnasium in the city will be named after the 47-year-old who was a known Black Lives Matter activist.

Announcing the agreement on Monday, Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein said No amount of money will ever bring Andre Hill back to his family, but we believe this is an important and necessary step in the right direction.” But the family of Hill said they would like to see the killing of their relative to spur widescale changes in the relationship between Black people and law enforcement in Ohio and in other places.

“We want things to change rapidly, immediately. As far as my brother, every soldier doesn’t make it through battle, but the thing is they’ve paved the way for everybody else to have freedom and the righteous way of living in a more peaceful society,” said Alvin Hill. brother of Andre, last Friday.

The daughter of the slain Black man also said the agreement does not constitute “full justice” for her father. The Hill family was represented by Ben Crump, the attorney who also secured favorable settlements for the families of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.

Hill was gunned down by cop Adam Coy who has now been kicked of the force. Officers had been responding to a call that a person in a vehicle in a garage had been switching the ignition on and off.