CINCINNATI — A 29-year-old man said he woke up on a stretcher Wednesday night as first responders loaded him into an ambulance. Now he's at home recovering from a fractured nose, black eye and a swollen lip.
"I was on the ground, unconscious, then I woke up and my girl was crying over me," said the man, who wishes to remain anonymous.
He shared his story with WCPO Friday with his mother by his side. The man said he was walking with his girlfriend and two friends from the Banks up to Government Square. They got to the area sometime between 9:30 and 10 p.m. and were standing across from the Metro bus terminal when he said a large group of people jumped him and the others.
"I remember somebody swinging on me from behind. I defended myself and then next thing you know it was just a whole bunch of people and I just see nothing but feet and I felt the pole and there was a gun to my head and (I hear someone) saying, 'I should kill him now,'" the man said. "The way it was coming, I didn't think I was going to make it out."
He was taken to the hospital and received numerous stitches, he said. It was a nearly 14-hour stay before he was discharged to go home.
"They jumped him and robbed him," his mother Ryan Medalion said. "They took his keys, his phone, his wallet, his ID."
Her worry has since subsided and has now turned to anger and frustration, though she said those emotions are not solely directed at the people who assaulted her son. She's also pointing fingers at police.
Medalion is accusing officers of not taking her son's assault seriously.
"They didn't give him a police report, they didn't say if they were going to follow up, nothing," she said. "Why wasn't nothing else done? This just happened to two people downtown. They could have killed my son. Look at his face. Look at his injuries. They don't think that's serious?"
WCPO checked in with Cincinnati police Friday. They confirmed they are working on a police report for the incident, but it's taking time to compile.
Lt. Jonathan Cunningham said officers are still looking to identify at least five people involved in the attack, who are all believed to be adults.
A 27-year-old woman was arrested at the scene Wednesday night, Cunningham said. She is facing a charge of assault on an officer after she allegedly hit the officer who intervened to stop the melee.
"It has to stop somewhere," Medalion said. "What they did to my son is not right. He is going to be scarred for life from this. My son is not a street person. Like, he's going to be scarred for life."
Her son said he now fears the days ahead and is hesitant about walking downtown.
"I don't like it. I don't feel like it's safe. I think that anything can happen down there don't nobody have a care in the world," he said. "Anybody down there could be me."
CPD said the assault was picked up on the city's cameras in the area. WCPO has requested that footage.
