Cincinnati Police offer safety tips to avoid abduction

CINCINNATI - Would you know what to do is someone tried to abduct you as you tried to get into your car in a parking garage?

Cincinnati Police offered several suggestions Thursday, after a man in his 20s kidnapped one woman and tried to abduct two others Wednesday night in the garage at Seventh and Sycamore streets.

The kidnap victim was ordered to drive to Dorothy Lane in East Price Hill where she police say she fought the man rather than be driven down the dead end street and seriously injured or killed.

The suspect then took her purse and fled on foot.

Cincinnati Assistant Police Chief Lt. Vince Demasi said an offensive approach is the best tactic if someone comes up to you and you feel unsafe.

"We recommend that you just look them right in the eye and just tell them 'Get away from me. Get back," he said. "Do not make that so much of an ask or a question kind of a deal, but a demand. Verbally stand up and say, 'Get back. Get away from me.' If the person continues then scream, yell, run and try to draw as much attention to you as you possibly can."

Sgt. Danita Kilgore, the department's Public Information Officer urged people to be vigilant and aware of their surroundings.

"Look to see what's going on around you," she said. "Don't be caught off guard by people asking questions that are designed to get you off target."

She added that if someone is trying to put you in a vehicle and take you away from a location, you need to make a stand. That includes yelling, screaming, kicking or fighting.

"In most cases the outcome is always worse when the person is taken from one location to another location," said Kilgore. "That's usually a good indicator of an unfavorable outcome."