It was a wild hearing for a crazy case loaded with heartbreak. Rodney L. Hinton, a father from Ohio, was recently denied bond for allegedly killing a police officer with his vehicle one day after his son was shot and killed by local law enforcement.
Hinton has been charged with aggravated murder for taking Hamilton County special deputy Larry Henderson’s life this past Friday (May 2), and he has pleaded not guilty. Henderson, who recently retired and was working as a special deputy for the University of Cincinnati’s graduation, was rushed to the hospital and died due to injuries sustained.
Before Hinton entered his plea, a man caused a scene outside the courtroom on Tuesday (May 6), NBC News reported. “That’s my brother, that’s my brother,” the man screamed, prompting deputies to escort Hinton out of the room. The judge presiding over the hearing attempted to defuse the situation. “Everybody, be calm. We’re going to get through this,” they said as Hinton was led back into the room.
Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge told reporters on Friday that Rodney L. Hinton’s actions had a motive. His 18-year-old son, Ryan Hinton, was killed on Thursday (May 1) by a Cincinnati police officer who engaged him due to reports of a stolen vehicle. Reportedly, there were four people in the stolen car, and they all exited and ran as police drew near. Officers pursued two of the four people, one of whom was Ryan Hinton, who was reportedly armed.
Carl Beebe, a Cincinnati police officer, added that Hinton had seen the body camera footage of the shooting right before he killed Larry Henderson. The footage showed a currently unnamed Cincinnati police officer pointing his gun at Hinton’s son while he ran away and letting off four shots. Another video included audio of an officer yelling, “He’s got a gun!” which prompted the officer who killed Hinton’s son to draw his weapon.
“Let me be very direct: We cannot allow individuals to flee from officers with a loaded firearm aimed at them,” Theetge said on Friday (May 2). “When this happens, the outcome is almost always tragic. No one wins, and everyone involved is affected.” Ultimately, she justified the officer’s decisions as they have to make “split-second” choices to defend others and themselves when “immediate threats” are present.
The state’s argument for Rodney L. Hinton not receiving bond was the fact that he was a “giant mental health question mark,” in addition to being a danger to law enforcement and the public. His family members even said that they were concerned about him driving after seeing the video of his son being killed, and he also had a history of interactions with authorities over issues of domestic violence and assault.
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