CINCINNATI — Cincinnati's police union is calling for judicial accountability after multiple felony assaults against both citizens and police came to light.
Ken Kober has been president of the Fraternal Order of Police Queen City Lodge 69 (FOP) for less than two months, but he said the days since stepping into the role have already seen an alarming trend.
"The amount of crime that's been going on — it's just been a busy time so far this month," said Kober, who's been with the Cincinnati Police Department since 1999.
On Jan. 23, surveillance cameras caught a violent assault near the corner of 6th Street and Walnut Avenue. A man was walking on the sidewalk when a group of eight people, including teenagers, jumped him.
The assailants proceeded to punch and kick the man while he was on the ground, with one of the young suspects taking the victim's phone and wallet. The assault lasted nearly half a minute before the group ran off.
"It's disgusting," Kober said. "You have somebody that's just walking down the street at 8 o'clock on a weekday and eight young people come up from behind and just start attacking and kicking and punching him for no reason before taking his property and running off in the dark. Those things should not be happening in Cincinnati."
According to the incident report, officers were able to track down two of the suspects within minutes of the assault. Jadin Shaw, 18, was arrested along with a 14-year-old boy, but both were back on the streets the next day.
Hamilton County court records show Shaw was released on a 10% of $10,000 cash bond. Kober said the 14-year-old was released by a juvenile court judge with an electronic ankle monitor.
Kober believes the suspects should have faced higher consequences.
"It's not every judge in the courthouse. There are many of them that do a fine job," Kober said. "But what we're seeing is that (suspects) are being charged with violent felonies and they're going to court and they're getting very very small bonds until they go through the court process and they need to be held accountable. There has to be consequences for even being charged with these crimes, especially when they're on video."
Kober said an assault against a police officer this weekend pushed his frustration to a boiling point.
Early Sunday morning, police received a 911 call after a restaurant was robbed. Officers found the suspect, 27-year-old Antoine Walker, at a nearby gas station and attempted to arrest him. Kober said Walker attacked the officers inside the gas station while they tried to arrest him.
"One officer had his kneecap broken during the attack, with bone fragments from his kneecap breaking through his skin," Kober said.
"The felon who attacked the officer was on community control for different felony robbery and had been released to a mental health facility after serving a sentence for a different robbery. Citizens need to ask whether our elected judges are doing what they should to protect the public," Kober said.
Another group assault similar to that on Jan. 23 was also caught on camera. CPD shared video of the brutal beat down Monday evening.
It occurred days before the 6th Street jumping and within short walking distance, in the 100 block of East 5th Street. While a group of young adults and teens are suspected to be the assailants as well, a teenager instead fell victim to the brutality,
"In the last week, violent crime incidents have occurred among juveniles here in Cincinnati. This video should be disturbing to us all. There is no reasonable explanation for anyone to inflict harm upon another in our communities. As a city, we will NOT back down or surrender to disobedient juveniles who are instilling fear, harm, or chaos. As arrests are made, the message must be clear; severe consequences should occur to the greatest extent of the law," CPD Chief Teresa Theetge said in a social media post. "Parents and guardians, please have conversations with your teenagers as these incidents arise, making it clear that this behavior is vicious and harmful to our communities. Discuss the negative consequences of being a participant or a spectator. You must know where your children are and who they associate themselves with."
Walker was scheduled to be arraigned Monday morning but refused to leave his jail cell. His preliminary court appearance was continued to Tuesday morning.
WCPO attempted to reach Municipal Court Judge Donte Johnson, who granted Shaw his bond, but did not hear back Monday evening.
