A Black Lives Matter floral arrangement and a quilt with André Hill’s portrait decorated his casket at a memorial service Tuesday.

Friends and family gathered at First Church of God to commemorate Hill, a Black man who died after he was shot multiple times by former Columbus Police officer Adam Coy Dec. 22. Local and national leaders shared hopes for police reform, including the proposal of André’s Law.

The other officer at the scene, Amy Detweiler, told Columbus Police internal review investigators in an interview Dec. 23 that she did not perceive Hill as a threat. She said Coy shouted that Hill had a gun before shooting Hill in a house garage.

According to Columbus Police, no weapon was recovered at the scene.

André’s Law, proposed by Hill’s daughter Karissa Hill, would establish multiple police reform measures including penalties for not using a body camera, requiring timely medical assistance and holding officers with a record of excessive force accountable. State Rep. Erica Crawley (D-Columbus) said she is committed to ensuring that André’s Law is introduced and passed at the Ohio Statehouse.

“We will continue to strive so that people in this community will not be able just to barely survive, but thrive,” Crawley said.

U.S. Rep Joyce Beatty (D-OH-3), who was elected chair of the Congressional Black Caucus Dec. 3, said the Congressional Black Caucus will open Wednesday’s meeting with a prayer for Hill. She said the Caucus will pursue legislation to combat police misconduct, excessive force and racial bias.

“His life will be celebrated as a call for justice,” Beatty said.

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People line the street near First Church of God in Columbus for André Hill’s funeral, who was killed by Columbus Police Dec. 22. Credit: Bella Czajkowski | Patricia B. Miller Special Projects Reporter

Following public demands from Mayor Andrew Ginther and Columbus Police Chief Thomas Quinlan, Coy was fired Dec. 28. There is an ongoing investigation of the shooting by the Ohio Attorney General’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation.

The Rev. Al Sharpton, president and founder of the National Action Network, a civil rights organization, delivered the eulogy. He said he appreciates that city officials fired Coy, but further legal action needs to be taken. 

“It’s the judge that I want this cop to answer to,” Sharpton said. “We cannot have a precedent that if you kill us, you just lose your job and continue living like you were.”

Sharpton said he and other civil rights leaders recently met with President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris about police reform. Sharpton said he suggested reimplementing police reforms enacted during the Obama administration, which included use of body cameras. 

The Trump administration reversed a number of Obama-era police reforms; in 2017, the Justice Department stopped investigations and public reports about wrongdoings by police departments. Trump also reversed a ban on the military selling extra supplies to police, which was put in place after police used tear gas, armored vehicles and assault rifles on protesters of Michael Brown’s death in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014, according to NBC. 

Shawna Barnett, Hill’s sister, said the words “funeral” and “André” should not be in the same sentence. She said she last saw Hill Dec. 19 at a family gathering, where he was the life of the party and the brother she used to get in trouble all the time. 

“We listened to music and started to plan our next family gathering and what we would do next, and then this happened,” Barnett said.

Correction: A previous version of this story referred to Karissa Hill as Hill’s son instead of his daughter. It has since been corrected.