CINCINNATI — The family of an 18-year-old shot and killed by a Cincinnati police officer in May will file a civil lawsuit, the family's attorney said in a press conference. The news comes directly after the county prosecutor announced the shooting was justified.
Hamilton County Prosecutor Connie Pillich told reporters she determined the still-unnamed officer who fatally shot Ryan Hinton on May 1 was legally justified in his use of force. Pillich said the officer, whom she referred to as "Officer A," "made a split-second decision that likely saved his life and the lives of other officers."
Pillich said the decision was her own and the case was not presented to a grand jury — something the family's attorney said they disagree with.
"Justice comes in many forms," said attorney Fanon A. Rucker with Cochran Law Firm. "One of the things that we did not see today is justice coming from the criminal justice system. But justice is still going to be obtained, and we're here to ensure that that is the case."
Watch the full press conference from the Hinton family and their attorney:
Rucker said deciding not to pursue criminal charges should not be a unilateral decision, and pointed to other jurisdictions that take every police shooting to a grand jury. He said the family will file a civil lawsuit.
"We will, in the coming weeks, be presenting our arguments to the courts," Rucker said. "And even though a group of citizens didn't have an opportunity in that building to decide whether criminal charges should be filed, we believe that a group of citizens should be the ones to make the determination of whether or not, in the eyes of the civil courts, that the tragic death of young Ryan Hinton was not justified."
When asked what arguments the family may make, Rucker pointed to the records of the officer who shot Hinton. Officials have not identified him to the public, citing Marsy's Law.
"We've been investigating this case since May 1. We have access to a lot of information that has not been made public ... We know the (officers') names, and we know their histories and we know that their credibility should not be accepted simply because they made statements about what happened," Rucker said.
Hear more from officials about the prosecutor's ruling below:
Hinton's cousin, Marlyn Howard, was the only member of his family to speak during the press conference. He said Pillich's reasoning was "a complete joke."
"We all seen Ryan running, man. How can you be threatened by somebody running? I don't understand it," Howard said.
Rucker also dismissed Pillich's discussion about social media posts of Hinton with a gun or prior robberies.
"The question is not what was going on in ... the last week, an hour before, the day before, but what was going on at that time," Rucker said. "(The officer) had no idea about any of that stuff. So why was it relevant to castigate and denigrate this young man ... because it had nothing to do with the officer's decision."
When asked when they would be filing, Rucker only said, "soon."
