Rodney Hinton faced off against police at his bond hearing last week.
Rodney Hinton faced off against police at his bond hearing last week.
Rodney Hinton jnr, a Cincinnati man who authorities said struck and killed a sheriff’s deputy with his car earlier this month after his 18-year-old son was fatally shot by police, pleaded not guilty to charges of aggravated murder and felonious assault Tuesday.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Hinton, 38, whose case drew national attention to the officer-involved shooting and what prosecutors said was a “targeted killing” of a law enforcement officer by an upset father.
Hinton rammed Hamilton County sheriff’s deputy Larry Henderson, who was directing traffic at an intersection for the University of Cincinnati’s graduation ceremony, hours after he and his family met with Cincinnati police over the fatal shooting of his son, Hamilton County Prosecutor Connie Pillich said in a news conference last week.
Hinton’s son, Ryan Hinton, was fatally shot by Cincinnati police on May 1 after fleeing with three other young men as police investigated a stolen vehicle, Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge said in a May 2 news conference.
Body-camera footage shows an officer coming out of his car to pursue a fleeing man. Another officer can be heard yelling, “He’s got a gun.” About six seconds after the officer exits his vehicle, he fires several shots at a man who appears to be running away from him.
Officers recovered a gun at the scene and said after the incident that Ryan Hinton had the firearm in his hand and it was pointed at the officer who fired at him, Theetge said. The officer fired four or five shots, Theetge said. Ryan Hinton was hit in the chest and in the arm, and officers administered medical aid to him until the fire department arrived, the police chief added.
What was Rodney Hinton arrested for?
Hinton and his family met with the Cincinnati Police Department the morning of May 2 and viewed the body-camera footage of the shooting. Hinton was “very distraught”, his lawyer Michael Wright told the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Hinton left the Cincinnati Police Department at around 10.30am, according to Pillich.
At about 1pm, Hinton approached a busy intersection near the University of Cincinnati, where Henderson was directing traffic and stopped in the centre lane, Pillich said. He then “floor[ed]” his vehicle, crossing into the oncoming lanes toward Henderson and hitting and killing him, the prosecutor said.
“He never veers off course, he never slows down,” Pillich said.
Prosecutors charged Hinton with two counts of aggravated murder, one count of murder and two counts of felonious assault.
“It was the defendant’s specific purpose to kill a law enforcement officer,” Pillich said.
What have Hinton’s attorneys said?
Hinton pleaded not guilty on Tuesday. Clyde Bennett, one of Hinton’s lawyers, told the Washington Post that he intends to plead not guilty by reason of insanity.
“Hinton was confronted with the visual ... murdering of his child,” Bennett said. “That triggered a psychiatric episode.”
Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Jody Luebbers kept Hinton in custody, not granting him bond, WLWT5 reported.
Hinton’s family is calling for further investigation of Ryan Hinton’s shooting and has hired other lawyers to investigate that incident, Bennett said.
“They’re very disturbed,” he said. “It was a very tragic, horrific incident.”
That shooting is still under investigation, which “will take some time to complete,” Pillich’s office said in a Monday news release. Three other suspects in the stolen vehicle case were indicted on charges including theft, obstructing official business and improperly handling a firearm in a motor vehicle.
Rodney Hinton Jr. Photo / Hamilton County Sheriff's Office
What has the response to the incident been?
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine (R) said on X that he was “sickened by what appears to be an intentional act of violence”. He ordered flags lowered in Hamilton County in honour of Henderson.
David Whitehead, the Cincinnati NAACP president, said in a statement on Facebook shortly after the incident that his prayers go out to both Henderson’s and Ryan Hinton’s families.
“We want to make sure that any police action that results in the loss of life is transparent and justified,” Whitehead said. “We also do not under any circumstances condone any retaliation, especially the type that threatens or results in harm to persons or property.”
The case sparked Antoinette Holloway, who lives in Atlanta, to file a civil suit against the state of Ohio, the Cincinnati Police Department, Hamilton County Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey and the Hamilton County jail in Hinton’s name, alleging that he was subjected to “excessive force” and retaliation after his arrest.
Holloway does not know Hinton or have first-hand knowledge of his situation but was compelled by his case to take action, she told the Post. Holloway has had other federal lawsuits in Georgia dismissed because they were deemed frivolous, according to the Enquirer.
Bennett, Hinton’s lawyer, said the family did not know about the lawsuit and does not want it to interfere with the criminal case. The Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office declined to comment. The Cincinnati Police Department and Ohio attorney general’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Hinton has another scheduled court appearance on Friday and is also due in court on May 22, according to court records. Bennett said he expects a trial to take place later this year.
