CINCINNATI -- The man accused of tearing down a memorial honoring a fallen police officer appeared in court Wednesday morning.
Quincy Chapman, 33, was captured on camera taking down a pair of memorial wreaths outside the Fraternal Order of Police building on Central Parkway in Over-the-Rhine, according to Cincinnati police. Chapman’s attorneys said he turned himself in when he saw police were looking for him.
FOP President Dan Hils called the incident “very disturbing.”
"When obviously we are down, we are hurting we've seen how dangerous the job can be, we've seen fellow officers lose their lives, their families suffering,” Hils said. “A simple expression of shared emotion and grief has to be attacked because somebody doesn't like the police, that's very disturbing."
Police initially tweeted the wreaths had been displayed to honor Det. Bill Brewer, who was shot and killed in a standoffover the weekend, but court documents indicated the wreaths had actually been mounted in honor of Colerain Township police Officer Dale Woods.
Woods died Jan. 7, three days after being struck by a vehicle while he directed traffic near the scene of a previous crash. The driver of that vehicle had not been charged with a crime by Wednesday, but the incident remains under investigation.
Chapman faces a charge of "knowingly (causing) serious physical harm to a similar structure that is used as a memorial for the dead," according to court documents. Chapman's attorney argued the act doesn’t rise to the level of a felony, but Judge Gwen Bender disagreed.
Chapman is being held on a $20,000 bond due to his history of missing court dates.
