CINCINNATI — The man accused of attacking and beating a Cincinnati Police Department officer in Sawyer Point Park is being held on a $1 million bond.
Just after 7 a.m. Sunday, CPD officers responded to the park near the tennis courts for the report of a man exposing himself, CPD Lt. Jonathan Cunningham said.
Dan Hils, president of the Fraternal Order of Police, said the responding officer was immediately attacked upon arrival. During the assault, Hils said the officer was beaten with his baton, struck several times with his own Taser and the suspect also tried to "gouge the officer's eyes out."
Lt. Cunningham said when another officer arrived on scene, the suspect was standing over the injured officer. That officer ordered the suspect to the ground, and was arrested without further incident.
Records filed Sunday evening in Hamilton County courts have identified the suspect as 34-year-old Brandon Claiborne, of Cincinnati.
Claiborne, who is more than 6 feet tall and 300 pounds, is charged with aggravated assault and aggravated robbery. He appeared in court Monday morning and was accompanied by a large police presence.
While in the courtroom, Claiborne appeared to smile and talk to himself. According to the prosecution, he suffers from schizophrenia.
The judge said that Claiborne is a threat to "anyone he comes in contact with in the community," and set his bond at $500,000 per charge.
Court records show a series of prior misdemeanor charges against Claiborne that have since been dismissed.
In one of these cases, Claiborne received a misdemeanor assault charge after attempting to burn several items at a restaurant. In another, he received a criminal trespassing charge after entering a Kroger and throwing a shopping cart at a window multiple times.
WCPO asked the city why the charges had been dismissed. A representative for the city said they had no further information to provide at this time.
Multiple law-enforcement sources tell WCPO that the officer attacked was 33-year veteran Officer Terry McGuffey. McGuffey was also a former member of the homicide unit and a U.S. Navy Veteran. Sources said he is not related to current Hamilton County Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey.
Hils said the officer is conscious and will survive but is currently undergoing tests at UC Medical Center.
Hamilton County Prosecutor Melissa Powers called the attack on the officer "sickening."
"Thank God backup got there in time to save this officer's life," Powers said. "We cannot — and will not — tolerate violence against our police. If you assault a police officer in Hamilton County, we will put you in prison for a very long time."
Mayor of Cincinnati Aftab Pureval said this was a "horrific attack" and "unconscionable":
"Officers risk their lives to serve and protect our community — and to be met with violence is as disgusting as it is unacceptable. Anyone responsible for violence against our law enforcement will face justice to the fullest extent of the law."
Cincinnati Police Department Chief Teresa Theetge said she is 'appalled' and 'saddened':
"I am appalled and saddened by the violent attack that took place this morning against one of our officers. We all know that policing can be a dangerous profession, but it must be abundantly unacceptable for our officers to be physically attacked. All officers begin their tour of duty with the ultimate desire of returning home to loved ones without being injured or killed in the line of duty. This hope is not always the outcome when confronted by a violent assailant as seen by today’s incident. We are forever grateful that our officer’s life was spared today, but we are without a doubt hurt that pain and injury was caused to our officer by simply answering a call for service and doing his job. The individual responsible for this viscous crime has been arrested and must be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. There is no excusable explanation for any member of our community to cause intentional bodily harm to another, whether it be an officer or a citizen. We ask our community members to please keep our officer in your thoughts and prayers as he begins to heal from today’s unimaginable incident."
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