It was a tragic week in Cincinnati. On Thursday, May 1, a Cincinnati Police officer fatally shot 18-year-old Ryan Hinton in East Price Hill. The next day, Ryan Hinton’s father, Rodney L. Hinton Jr., 38, hit with his car retired Hamilton County Deputy Sheriff Larry Henderson who was directing traffic at Martin Luther King Drive and Burnet Woods Drive for the University of Cincinnati graduation ceremonies. Deputy Sheriff Henderson died a short time later as a result of his injuries. Cincinnati Police Chief Theetge stated that the two fatal encounters are connected. At an emotional press conference on Friday, May 2, after the announcement of Deputy Henderson’s passing. Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey said that Deputy Henderson retired after 33 years of service but returned to assist with traffic detail. She said that he was a popular sheriff whom everyone knew and loved.
Provided by Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office
Rodney L. Hinton, Jr. appeared in court Saturday morning, May 3, and was charged with aggravated murder in the death of Deputy Sheriff Larry Henderson, who had planned to retire in December, according to a Facebook commemnt.
The judge set no bond for Rodney L. Hinton Jr. ahead of a hearing scheduled for Tuesday, May 6.
“In Deputy Henderson’s early tenure as a Sheriff’s Deputy, I recognized his talent for teaching and presentation,” said McGuffey in a statement released by her office on Sunday afternoon. “Larry began his journey as a Sheriff’s Office trainer early in his career. He developed an expertise and became an excellent trainer. Subsequently, he trained divisions of the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office that included hundreds of deputy sheriffs. His ability to relate to and touch officers’ lives was extraordinary. We will continue to honor Larry’s life of service.”
Ryan Hinton’s family is being represented by attorneys with the Cochran Firm as they investigate the officer-involved shooting. The Cochran Firm released this statement:
“Our firm was hired by members of Ryan Hinton’s family to conduct an investigation into his shooting death by an officer with the Cincinnati Police Department. We are in the preliminary stages of that investigation.
“Yesterday, we attended a meeting between the family and members of the Cincinnati Police Department to view body camera video of Ryan Hinton’s shooting death.
“Ryan Hinton’s family, including Ryan’s father, was present at the meeting, and they were understandably distraught as they watched the bodycam video. After the meeting with the police department, Ryan Hinton’s father left in his own vehicle and that was the last we heard from him until learning about the tragic incident involving a law enforcement officer who was working a traffic detail near the University of Cincinnati.
“On behalf of Ryan Hinton’s family, we offer our heartfelt condolences to the family and colleagues of the officer who was killed yesterday.
“This is an unimaginable tragedy for this community. Ryan Hinton’s family is heartbroken by this tragic turn of events and we are all devastated for the family of the officer who was killed.”
Rodney Hinton Jr., Ryan’s father, was charged with aggravated murder in the death of a deputy the next day.
The recently retired deputy was working as a special deputy and directing traffic near the university during graduation events, officials said at a news briefing. Officials did not identify him, citing Marsy’s Law, which protects victim’s names from being disclosed due to privacy protections.
“He was so well liked and so well known, we could fill this building with the law enforcement agencies that respect him, love him, his friends, his family,” Hamilton County Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey said at the briefing. “We are so deeply saddened.”
Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge said there was a definite connection between this incident and Thursday’s police shooting of 18-year-old Ryan Hinton, whom she identified as Hinton’s son.
The 18-year-old was fatally shot by a Cincinnati police officer who responded to a report of a stolen vehicle at an apartment complex at 2500 Warsaw Ave. around 9 a.m. May 1, according to police. The incident occurred in a parking lot at the end of a long driveway, Theetge said at another news briefing Friday. The vehicle was allegedly stolen from northern Kentucky earlier on May 1.
Two officers in police vehicles responded to the area to apprehend the four people who were in the car, according to Theetge. All four of them began to run, some in different directions, when approached by police — prompting the two officers to pursue Hinton and another individual, Theetge said.
Hinton was armed, Theetge said.
Body camera footage shared by the Cincinnati Police Department shows an officer exiting his vehicle and aiming his gun at the 18-year-old, who appeared to be running away. The officer fired at least four times, according to Theetge, and the 18-year-old fell to the ground. It’s not clear from body camera footage if Hinton had aimed a firearm at officers.
Theetge said she believes Ryan was hit by two bullets, in the chest and the arm.
“He’s got a gun! He’s got a gun on your right! On your right!” the officer could be heard saying.
The gun that Ryan Hinton allegedly had with him was recovered from the scene following the shooting, along with a loaded extended magazine, Theetge said.
Theetge defended the officer’s shooting of Hinton, saying officers are “often compelled to make split-second decisions to protect others and themselves when faced with immediate threats.” The shooting is under investigation.
“Let me be very direct: We cannot allow individuals to flee from officers with a loaded firearm aimed at them,” she said. “When this happens, the outcome is almost always tragic. No one wins, and everyone involved is affected.”
Theetge said in the briefing that the officer who shot Hinton said the 18-year-old had the gun pointed at him, causing him to fear for his life. Hinton did not fire his gun, Theetge said, adding, “We do not expect the officers to wait until they’re fired upon before they feel the necessity to fire.”
On May 2, the family, including Rodney Hinton, and their attorneys, attended a meeting with the Cincinnati Police Department to watch the body camera footage, according to reports. After the meeting, the father left in his own car, which is when the incident involving Deputy Sheriff Henderson happened, the spokesperson said.
Chief Theetge did not identify the officers involved in the fatal shooting incident, citing privacy laws, but said both were assigned to the fugitive apprehension squad.
Theetge said the entire incident lasted six seconds. “Six quick seconds,” she said, adding that the officers tried to administer medical aid to Hinton until first responders arrived.
Two of the other suspects involved in the alleged car theft were identified as 18-year-old Jurell Austin and 19-year-old DeAnthony Bullucks, who have been charged with receiving stolen property and felony obstructing official business, according to Theetge. A third suspect, Cynsere Grigsby, was arrested on Sunday.
