Andre Hill’s Family Reaches $10 Million Settlement With City of Columbus

City officials in Columbus, Ohio, have agreed to pay a $10 million settlement to the family of Andre Hill, a Black man who was fatally shot by a police officer in a garage in December.

The settlement, which is set to be the largest ever paid out by the city, will now move to the Columbus City Council for a vote on Monday.

“We understand that because of this former officer’s actions, the Hill family will never be whole,” Zach Klein, the Columbus city attorney, said in a statement on Friday announcing the settlement. “No amount of money will ever replace a beloved family member’s life, but we are glad to take this step in the right direction on behalf of the City.”

Mr. Hill, 47, was fatally shot by Adam Coy, a 19-year veteran of the Columbus police, on Dec. 22, only weeks after a Franklin County sheriff’s deputy killed a Black man in Columbus, setting off another round of protests against police brutality.

Days after the shooting, Mr. Coy was fired for not immediately turning on his body camera and not providing aid to Mr. Hill. In February, Mr. Coy was charged with murder, felonious assault and two counts of dereliction of duty related to the shooting of Mr. Hill.

In February, Mark Collins, a lawyer for Mr. Coy, said the evidence would show that Mr. Coy was justified in his use of force and that he believed that Mr. Hill had been holding a silver revolver in one hand.

Mr. Coy did not activate his body camera until after Mr. Hill was shot. Though Mr. Coy did not have his body camera turned on, the department’s cameras have a feature that begins to record 60 seconds before they’re turned on. The playback feature captured the shooting.

Two police officers responded to a call from someone who reported a suspicious S.U.V. parked in a residential area, according to the video released. On a recording of the call, which was also made public, a man told a police dispatcher that the S.U.V. had been there for about 30 minutes, and that the car had been running for much of that time.

Mr. Coy’s body camera footage showed that he approached a garage with another officer and shined flashlights inside. A vehicle and Mr. Hill were inside. Mr. Hill, who appeared to be holding a cellphone in his hand, walked slowly toward the officers. Within seconds, Mr. Coy pulled his gun and fatally shot Mr. Hill four times. He fell to the ground.

Mr. Coy, still pointing his gun, ordered Mr. Hill to put his hands to his side and roll onto his stomach. Officers were first seen on video trying to help Mr. Hill about six minutes after he was shot. Mr. Hill died at the hospital shortly afterward. No weapon was recovered at the scene.

“Andre Hill should still be alive today, and no amount of money will bring him back,” Mayor Andrew J. Ginther of Columbus said in a statement on Friday. “My commitment to social justice, racial equity and healing in our community remains unwavering.”

In January, Mr. Ginther demoted the former Columbus police chief, Thomas Quinlan, who he said had lost the public’s trust after failing to “successfully implement the reform and change I expect and that the community demands,” according to The Columbus Dispatch.

The City Council also unanimously passed Andre’s Law, named after Mr. Hill, which mandates the use of body cameras by city police during any action by law enforcement, The Columbus Dispatch reported. The law also requires officers to give aid and call for medics if they use any force that causes injuries.

Last month, 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant, who had been in foster care, was fatally shot by police in Columbus responding to a 911 call about an attempted stabbing shortly before a jury in Minneapolis convicted the former police officer Derek Chauvin of the murder of George Floyd.

Ms. Bryant’s death sparked protests across Columbus again. With at least four fatal killings by the police in the past few months, many residents in Ohio’s capital city felt exploited by the Police Department, which had received many complaints of misconduct.

“It’s very emotional because every day you turn on the T.V., you see a new killing,” Karissa Hill, Mr. Hill’s daughter, said at a news conference on Friday about her reactions to police killings after her father’s death. “It retriggers, because no matter how it happened or justified, nonjustified, you see it, and it just brings back a trigger that my dad’s not here.”

At the news conference, Benjamin Crump, a lawyer for the family, thanked the city’s leadership for settling the case so quickly and for establishing the new precedent “that we will value all life equally.”

In addition to the financial settlement, the city will rename a Columbus gym this year after Mr. Hill, called the Andre Hill Gymnasium. Mr. Hill frequently went to that gym.

“Karissa can tell her three children that your grandfather made history today in partnership with the city of Columbus, to say that his life mattered,” Mr. Crump said, referring to Mr. Hill’s daughter and grandchildren. “It would not be swept under the rug, that we will remember his legacy.”