A white police officer who shot dead a Black man in Columbus , Ohio, last week was fired on Monday , city officials said .
The death of Andre Maurice Hill triggered outrage in a country that has been racked by protests against police brutality and systemic racism since the spring .
The 47- year -old African -American was in the garage of a house when he was shot several times by a police officer who had been called to the scene for a minor incident.
The officer , Adam Coy, was initially suspended after the shooting.
“ The evidence provided solid rationale for termination, ” said Columbus police chief Thomas Quinlan . “ Mr Coy will now have to answer to the state investigators for the death of Andre Hill. ”
Hill, who was not armed at the time of the shooting, was the second African- American killed by police in less than three weeks in Columbus.
“ Andre Hill ’ s death is another tragic example of the tendency of police to view Black people as criminal or dangerous , and it points to the need for comprehensive , national police reform , ” said Ben Crump , a lawyer who has represented the families of several of the victims of police killings , including that of George Floyd , whose death in May triggered the biggest wave of racial protests in decades.
( AFP)
