CINCINNATI, Ohio — Suspects allegedly fired shots at officers in three separate incidents over the weekend, according to Cincinnati police.
“Frankly, I'm not that shocked,” said Cincinnati Fraternal Order of Police President Dan Hils. “We see more and more incidences where people are challenging the police out on the street.”
On Friday, a Cincinnati parking enforcement officer told dispatchers he was shot at in West Price Hill after asking a driver to move a vehicle blocking the street. Three bullets hit the side of his car, but the officer was not hurt, police said.
On Sunday afternoon, Cincinnati police said a 14-year-old fired a gun at an officer while running from police in Westwood. The officer was not hurt and did not fire back, according to CPD; the teen was later arrested.
Sunday night, a man was arrested after allegedly firing dozens of rounds at officers while barricading inside a home in East Price Hill. No officers were injured in that incident either.
Still, Hils said these shootings can have an impact on officers.
“We talk a lot about PTSD,” he said. “That can be a thing that can leg on and bother you for days, weeks, months, years down the road.”
National FOP data shows the number of officers shot in the line of duty has gone up, while the number of officers killed by gunfire has dropped. As of April 30, the organization reported that 135 officers had been shot in the line of duty in 2023, a 52% increase from the same time in 2020.
In the Tri-State, data from the Gun Violence Archive suggests the number of shootings targeting officers has decreased from a few years ago.
“It’s part of policing,” said retired Cincinnati police Sgt. Bill Beuke. “During my 30 years, which primarily was in the 70s and early 80s, there were 12 Cincinnati police officers killed in the line of duty.”
Beuke is now the museum director of the Greater Cincinnati Police Museum. He’s helped memorialize more than 200 officers killed in the line of duty in the museum.
“It affects a lot of people, and of course, the family,” he said.
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