CINCINNATI — Nearly 25 years after the Cincinnati Collaborative Agreement was established to implement systemic reform in the Cincinnati Police Department, the police shooting of 18-year-old Ryan Hinton has raised questions about the reform's effectiveness.
Community leader Iris Roley, the city's Collaborative Agreement Sustainability Coordinator, expressed the sentiments of many in the wake of the tragedy.
"It is extremely traumatizing when it is violence from the systems that you pay to protect and serve you," Roley said, highlighting the pervasive tension in the community following the incident.
So Friday, dozens of community members piled onto a Zoom call hosted by Cincinnati Black United Front (CBUF) to hear Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge address questions about Hinton's death.
WATCH: Community members seek answers from Cincinnati police in fatal shooting of Ryan Hinton
According to officials, Cincinnati police officers were notified about a stolen vehicle at an apartment complex in the 2500 block of Warsaw Avenue.
When two officers approached the car, four people ran from it into the woods, including Hinton. As Hinton ran from police, body camera video shows him falling. Officers interviewed as part of the investigation into the shooting said they heard the metal of the gun hit the ground when he fell.
Hinton got back up and ran between two dumpsters. As he emerged, an officer was already on the other side of the dumpsters with a gun drawn, footage showed. According to officer interviews, the officer who shot Hinton said the 18-year-old was pointing a gun at them.
The footage is blurry and does not clearly show Hinton pointing a gun. Theetge said the officer said he felt he was in danger.
Authorities are still investigating the shooting and have yet to release the names of the officers involved as dictated by Marsy's Law.
Here is a summary of the questions asked by community members during the conversation and Theetge's responses:
Have you been able to utilize the Leica camera system to reconstruct the police shooting of Ryan Hinton?
"We use it for reconstructing fatal auto accidents, other (types) of crime scenes, and the Black United Front's suggestion was to utilize that camera for this incident as well. I still have to talk to my subject matter experts in the department on that technology to see if and how that could be used."
Why can no one see a gun in Ryan Hinton's hand in the body camera video that has been released?
"We do not have a crystal clear still image of the gun in Mr. Hinton's hand. And that is not something that we could reproduce from the footage, because the footage didn't capture it that way. It captured it in blurred imagery because of (Hinton and the officer) running."
Are the two body camera video clips that have been presented to the public the only clips captured during the shooting? Will there be clearer video available from the body cameras?
"We released the body cam footage from the two officers involved in the incident. There is not any additional footage of the incident itself. Other officers were chasing other individuals. They were not in close proximity to Mr. Hinton or the officers who were chasing him and the other individuals."
Can you confirm how many shots were fired by the officer and how many bullets hit Hinton? When will the autopsy report be made available to the public?
"We believe the officer discharged his weapon approximately five times. Two of those struck Mr. Hinton. And, as far as the autopsy report — and that's really not my wheelhouse — I'm sure you've seen in the local media today that was not going to be released today."
Did an undercover officer shoot Ryan?
"Yes, you can tell by the camera footage he was undercover."
Are you considering reexamining your foot pursuit policy?
"Things like a foot pursuit, we have got to leave some things to officer discretion. Based on their training, their experience, some parameters that we put in place, such as for a foot pursuit, they need to call out on the radio where they are, what they're wanted for, description of the person they're chasing, things like that. So no, I do not have any plans at this moment to revise that."
Why is the Attorney General’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation not investigating this police shooting for CPD?
"A lot of law enforcement agencies in the US, especially in the state of Ohio, have gone to using BCI, which is a state investigative body for things such as this. We have not done that. We never have done that ... Most likely, if BCI took over, they would have their marching orders. They would have what they have to do, and they do not have the vested interest that we have in the community, and being as transparent as we possibly can be, and getting the information out to you. So I think you would see that process take a tremendous hit if BCI came in and took these over from us."
Why should Cincinnati, particularly Black Cincinnatians, believe that CPD can investigate itself?
"I think we have proven that we can investigate ourselves, not just on critical incidents, but on all kinds of topics ... The other thing is, (the) prosecutor is at the scene. The prosecutor is not CPD, but the prosecutor is at the scene. They are seeing what's going on from the moment they get the telephone call that we had an incident. They are at CIS, watching all the interviews. They are hearing firsthand what the officers had to say, and think about CCA. CCA is not CPD. Same thing with CCA. They are at the scene. They are seeing what's going on."
Could you address the transparency concerns surrounding not releasing the names of the officers involved in the shooting?
"Marsy's Law is designed to protect victims of crime. Now, when you think about this incident, the officer is the victim of a crime. He said he had a gun pointed at him. That's an aggravated menacing. Like it or not, he gets the same protections under Marsy's Law as any other citizen does. I can't change that. It's not that I choose not to release their name. I cannot release their name because of Marsy's Law."
During and before the session, Roley reinforced the need for transparency and accountability regarding police actions.
"There's something here to have checks and balances and to hold people accountable," Roley said.
Roley mentioned that the city's administration is taking steps to ensure community involvement in the process.
"I've been given the opportunity by the city manager to create a special advisory group around this particular case," Roley told WCPO. "So that the community sees it right now and, as things are released, helps make recommendations to the city administration."
WATCH: Our full interview with Iris Roley, discussing Ryan Hinton's death and police accountability in Cincinnati
The five recommendations from the CBUF are:
- CBUF expects full and timely compliance with the Collaborative Agreement’s investigative protocols regarding the shooting of Ryan Hinton.
- CBUF expects a parallel investigation by the Cincinnati Citizens Complaint Authority (CCA) to proceed concurrently with criminal and internal investigations.
- The city owns a Leica 360 mapping camera and software. CBUF recommends that the CCA conduct a Leica 360 analysis of the scene, including the perspectives of each officer present, the visual line to Mr. Hinton, the timeline of any release of a firearm found at the scene, and a reconstruction of Mr. Hinton’s movements.
- CBUF recommends that the CCA retain an independent expert to conduct an additional review of all relevant body cameras and other available footage. This analysis should determine whether the officer could reasonably have perceived a deadly threat. A thorough forensic review and interviews with witnesses are essential.
- CBUF urges Hamilton County Prosecutor Connie Pillich to faithfully review all evidence and make charging decisions that are both appropriate and just.
Adding to the uncertainty, for some, surrounding the incident, the Hamilton County Coroner's Office canceled a planned news conference that was set to discuss Hinton's autopsy results, citing a grand jury subpoena as the reason for the postponement.
This development has raised further questions about the investigation's progression. Roley said she believes a possible involvement of a grand jury suggests there are substantial facts yet to be revealed.
"One would assume that there's a lot more that we don't know than we do know," Roley said.
As the community awaits further information, WCPO has requested access to Hinton's full autopsy report and all additional body camera footage from the incident. The outcome of this case and its implications for the future of policing in Cincinnati remain uncertain.
