CINCINNATI — Just six seconds passed between when four people jumped from a suspected stolen car, running from police, and when a Cincinnati police officer shot and killed one man, Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge said during a press conference Friday morning.
On Friday night, after police said the man's father drove into a Hamilton County sheriff's deputy, killing him, police identified the man killed by an officer as 18-year-old Ryan Hinton.
Body camera footage played during the press conference was blurry as the officer chased after the alleged suspects in a wooded area behind an East Price Hill apartment building.
The shooting happened Thursday morning. Theetge said officers with the department's Fugitive Apprehension Squad, along with other uniformed officers, became aware of a stolen vehicle at an apartment complex in the 2500 block of Warsaw Avenue.
Hear more about the shooting from officials:
When police approached the vehicle, four people ran from it, Theetge said. She said at least one of them, identified as Hinton, was armed with a gun.
Clips and still images from officer body cameras show the people who were in the car scattered when police pulled in and trapped the suspected stolen vehicle with their cruisers.
Hinton tripped or slipped, and fell briefly on a concrete pad near two dumpsters, a still from body camera footage appeared to show.
Theetge said officers saw Hinton carrying a gun; officers interviewed as part of the investigation into the shooting said they heard the metal of the gun hit the ground when he fell, according to Theetge.
Hinton got back up and ran between the two dumpsters; a Cincinnati police officer was already on the other side of the dumpsters with their gun drawn, footage showed. Theetge said another officer involved in the chase alerted the officer who fired his gun that Hinton is armed.
The officer who fired the shots can be heard saying "gun" before multiple gunshots ring out. Theetge said officials believe the officer fired roughly four to five shots; Hinton was hit by two of those bullets. Theetge said the man was hit once in the chest, with the bullet exiting his back and once in the arm, but that bullet went through his arm and into his side.
Theetge said there is no indication that Hinton fired his gun at all during the encounter; police did recover a handgun with an extended magazine attached near the man who was shot. A second magazine was found in the man's sweatshirt pocket, according to Theetge.
In the suspected stolen car, police found a second gun, Theetge said. She said investigators believe that gun was stolen in Northern Kentucky Thursday morning and then, after that, the alleged suspects went on to steal the black Kia that was involved in the incident.
Theetge admitted during the press conference that the body camera footage is quick, and difficult to see clearly because of the blurriness.
"The individual is running with a firearm in his hand and the officer is running, so the body camera is jolting and what that leaves us with is a very blurred image, unfortunately," said Theetge.
However, she said during interviews after the shooting, the officer who fired the shots said when Hinton came through the dumpsters, the gun in his hand was pointed at the officer. Theetge said the officer reported that he felt he was in danger.
"We do not expect the officers to wait until they're fired upon," said Theetge.
See more from the shooting scene here:
CPD spokesperson Lt. Jonathan Cunningham said no officers were hurt in the shooting.
All three of the other people involved have been arrested.
Court documents show both 19-year-old Deanthony Bullocks and 18-year-old Jurell Austin are charged with receiving stolen property and obstructing official business. In a release on Saturday, CPD said they detained 18-year-old Cynsere Grigsby for the same charges as Bullocks and Austin.
The judge ordered Bullocks to be held on a $40,000 bond for both charges; Austin was ordered to be held on a $50,000 bond.
In court, the judge made Austin's bond higher because he's still facing three counts of felonious assault. Court documents show Austin was charged in December for a shooting that happened in October. That shooting wounded one person and Austin was also charged with discharging a gun near prohibited premises, because he allegedly shot over Gilbert Avenue, court documents say.
In court, a defense attorney also said Austin is a high school student who attended Dohn Community High School until it closed earlier this year.
Watch Theetge's full press conference from the shooting scene Thursday in the player below:
Fraternal Order of Police President Ken Kober also said the man pointed a gun at the officer.
"Understand that if you shoot or point a gun at police, the odds of you getting shot are very, very high," Kober said.
Theetge declined to identify the officers involved in the shooting, including the officer who fired shots, citing Marsy's Law. Marsy's Law is intended to protect victims of crimes.
Cincinnati Police Department's policy on discharging firearms:
WCPO pulled documents on CPD's policies and protocols regarding an officer firing their gun during an encounter with suspects.
"Police officers may not use deadly force merely to prevent escape in misdemeanor cases," reads the policy. "The use of deadly force to prevent escape of felony suspects is constitutionally unreasonable except where the escape presents an immediate risk of death or serious physical harm to another.
"Where the suspect poses no immediate threat of death or serious physical harm to others, the harm resulting from failing to apprehend him does not justify the use of deadly force to do so. If an officer uses unnecessary and/or excessive force, or acts wantonly and maliciously, he could be found guilty of assault, even of culpable homicide if he kills a the person he is attempting to arrest."
You can read the department's policy in full below:
Cpd Discharging Firearms Policy by webeditors on Scribd
Following the shooting, the family of Ryan Hinton hired attorneys Michael Wright, Shean Williams, and Robert Gresham of The Cochran Firm, as well as Anthony Pierson of Pierson and Pierson, LLC, to conduct an investigation into his death.
"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," the attorneys wrote in a statement sent to WCPO 9.
"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."
