COLUMBUS (WCMH) — A final farewell to Andre’ Hill.
Hill, a 47-year-old Black man was shot and killed by a Columbus Police officer just days before Christmas, will be laid to rest Tuesday.
This is the second funeral Bishop Timothy Clarke will be officiating because of the police violence in the last few weeks. The first was the service for Casey Goodson Jr.
Bishop Clarke said it’s an emotional period in Columbus that many are still trying to understand.
“What we are dealing with right now in America, in Ohio, in Columbus, is in many ways a perfect storm,” he said.
With the COVID-19 pandemic and the loss of life to police violence, Clarke said his heart aches for the Hill family and to all experiencing loss.
“And what I think the message will be is one of healing, one of hope, but then this is a word we don’t often like and one of honesty because in order to heal, there has to be honesty,” Clarke said about his feelings on Hill’s viewing and funeral service.
Civil rights leader Al Sharpton and attorney Ben Crump, who is representing Hill’s family, will both speak at Tuesday’s service.
Clarke believes what the community and the city needs is to be open to seeking change.
“The only way we can get to the root of this is we have to address where it hurts, what is wrong, what is causing, creating over and over again this recidivism, as it were, of violence against black men,” Clarke said.
The viewing is open to the public at 11 a.m. Tuesday with a private funeral service to follow. The family will have a moment for the community to mourn with them directly after in the Brentnell neighborhood.