Ohio man accused of killing deputy denied bond as chaos disrupts packed courtroom
A disturbance broke out in an Ohio courtroom on Tuesday as Rodney Hinton Jr., the man accused of killing a Hamilton County sheriff’s deputy on May 2, a day after his son was fatally shot by Cincinnati police, appeared for a bond hearing.
Hamilton County Judge Tyrone Yates ordered Hinton, who is charged with aggravated murder, held without bond until his trial and asked that the suspect be allowed to receive mental health treatment while incarcerated.
People could be heard yelling in the courtroom gallery during the Tuesday morning hearing, though it is unclear what caused the disturbance. Fox News Digital has reached out to the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office for more information.
Hinton Jr. is accused of fatally striking retired Hamilton County Deputy Larry Henderson, who was directing traffic near the University of Cincinnati during a Friday graduation ceremony, with a vehicle around 1 p.m., according to Cincinnati police.
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Prosecutors argued Tuesday that Hinton “poses a substantial risk of serious physical harm to any person or to the community.” Hinton’s defense attorney told the judge he believes his client was “not in the right mind” when he allegedly struck and killed Henderson with his vehicle.
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Hinton’s 18-year-old son, Ryan Hinton, died after being shot by police on May 1 while officers were pursuing a stolen vehicle, according to Cincinnati Police Department Chief Teresa Theetge. During the pursuit, four individuals exited the stolen car and began to flee authorities.
One officer pursued Ryan Hinton, who was allegedly armed at the time and hid behind a dumpster. When Ryan emerged from the dumpster, the officer fired, fatally striking the 18-year-old suspect, Theetge said.
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Two other suspects involved in the stolen vehicle incident have been apprehended, and one remains at large, according to Theetge.
Ohio Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) President Jay McDonald said in a Monday statement that Ryan’s father, Rodney Hinton Jr., “intentionally murdered a retired deputy who was working special duty at a graduation just because he was a police officer.”
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The Hinton family’s attorneys told Fox News Digital in a statement that the Cochran Firm “was hired by Ryan Hinton’s estate to conduct an investigation into his shooting death by an officer with the Cincinnati Police Department.”
“We are in the preliminary stages of that investigation,” the family’s attorneys said, adding that on Friday, Hinton family members and Cincinnati police attended a meeting together “to view body camera video of Ryan Hinton’s shooting death.”
“Ryan Hinton’s family, including Ryan’s father, was present at the meeting and they were understandably distraught as they watched the bodycam video,” the family’s attorneys said. “After the meeting with the police department, Ryan Hinton’s father left in his own vehicle and that was the last we heard from him until learning about the tragic incident involving a law enforcement officer who was working a traffic detail near the University of Cincinnati.”
The attorneys offered their “heartfelt condolences to the family and colleagues of the officer who was killed yesterday.”
“This is an unimaginable tragedy for this community. Ryan Hinton’s family is heartbroken by this tragic turn of events and we are all devastated for the family of the officer who was killed,” the attorneys said.
Rodney Hinton Sr., Ryan Hinton’s grandfather, said during a Monday afternoon press conference that he is “praying hard for the officer that killed” his grandson and recalled what he saw in the police bodycam footage of his grandson’s shooting death.
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“I seen in the video…two scared people: I seen the officer scared, and I seen my grandson scared. So, it’s an unfortunate incident that happened,” Hinton Sr. said. “I didn’t see the police there trying to kill, kill, kill. No. All I seen is two people who made a mistake.”
Henderson was a 33-year officer with the HCSO and served in multiple specialized units since 1991, including the dive team, HCPA SWAT, FBI Task Force Officer and the HCSO Bomb Unit.
“In Deputy Henderson’s early tenure as a Sheriff’s Deputy, I recognized his talent for teaching and presentation,” Hamilton County Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey said in a Sunday statement. “Larry began his journey as a Sheriff’s Office trainer early in his career. He developed an expertise and became an excellent trainer. Subsequently, he trained divisions of the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office that included hundreds of deputy sheriffs. His ability to relate to and touch officers’ lives was extraordinary. We will continue to honor Larry’s life of service.”
Fox News’ Patrick McGovern contributed to this report.
