Tainted Christmas: Ohio locals stand against police brutality

Christmas turned out to be grim for locals of Columbus, Ohio after an unarmed Black man was shot dead by a police officer

A series of protests broke out after an unarmed Black man was shot by local police in Columbus, Ohio on Monday. This is the second such case of police brutality against the African-American community in the US in the past one month.

Dozens of protestors took to streets of Ohio to protest against the police brutality and called for justice for the wrongful assumption and shooting of the Black man.

Andre Maurice Hill was a 47-years-old Black man. He was shot dead by a police officer who was attending to a call for a minor incident. Hill was unarmed in the garage of a house on Monday. In the bodycam footage of the police officer, Hill can be seen walking towards the policeman with a mobile phone in his hand, seconds before getting shot.

Following the protests and an investigation, Columbus police chief Thomas Quinlan declared he will be moving to fire the officer, Adam Coy, on allegations of "critical misconduct".

"We have an officer who violated his oath to comply with the rules and policies of the Columbus Division of Police," Quinlan said in a statement. "This violation cost an innocent man his life."

The shooting has come after a year of repeated cases of police brutality against the African-American community across the world. Before Hill, Casey Goodson Jr, 23, was shot several times on December 4 while returning home. His family has said he was holding a sandwich which law enforcement mistook for a gun.

Locals lit candles and left flowers in front of the house where Hill was shot and killed by Columbus Police officer Adam Coy. Protesters also showed up with 'Black Lives Matter' boards and flags, and many other slogans to show solidarity with the Hill family.