Cincinnati cops crowded into a Black judge’s courtroom to see if Rodney Hinton Jr. would buckle. He didn’t.

Just days earlier, Hinton Jr. deliberately ran over a Cincinnati cop directing traffic, a day after another cop shot and killed his son, Ryan Hinton,18. 

The killer cop, whose name has not been released because of state regulations that protect him, charged that Ryan Hinton and three others were in a car stolen from Kentucky. 

Ryan was shot twice in the back, which means he was running away, not ready to duel.

The cop’s body camera footage does not clearly show the teen pointing the gun. 

Police acknowledged that the footage is a “very blurred image” due to the camera’s “jolting” movement during the pursuit. The shooting occurred on May 1. The gun that Ryan was allegedly holding was found on the ground. It was fully loaded.

There is growing evidence that the car was not stolen. The car was repossessed, and the four men were returning the automobile to the dealership where it had been purchased.

Rodney Hinton Jr. was consumed by sorrow and anger. He took matters into his own hands. He decided to kill a cop who was not involved in his son’s murder.

Police charged that Hinton Jr. was the driver of the car that, on May 2, fatally struck Larry Henderson, a retired deputy sheriff from Hamilton County. Henderson was directing traffic at the University of Cincinnati graduation ceremony.

Hinton was denied bail at a Tuesday court hearing in Cincinnati, packed with cops angrily glaring at Hinton. He was charged with aggravated murder in the killing of Henderson. He pleaded not guilty.

The Fraternal Order of Police is blocking Hinton from raising money for a fair trial.

The Buckeye State Sheriff’s Association and the Ohio Fraternal Order of Police demanded that GoFundMe remove the fundraising site posted to support Hinton. 

Emily Barson, director of Policy & Engagement for GoFundMe, said the FOP asked GoFundMe to remove multiple fundraising posts that supported Hinton Jr. 

Things have not cooled down. There are more fights between Black men and White men. 

In Montgomery, Alabama, on August 5, 2023, Black and White men fought each other in a major brawl. A large-scale fight took place at the riverfront dock in downtown Montgomery. The incident gained significant media attention due to its violent nature, the racial undertones, and Montgomery’s racially charged history.

Black men grabbed folding chairs and began beating the White men to the delight of Black male observers who watched the beating on TV and in person.

And some of the fights are deadly.

Karmelo Anthony, a 17-year-old, was charged with first-degree murder in the fatal stabbing of Austin Metcalf on August 2. Metalf was also 17. The stabbing followed an altercation at a track meet. Anthony warned Metcalf to leave him alone.

“Touch me and see what happens.” He pulled out a knife from his backpack and stabbed Metcalf once in the chest. 

Anthony fled the scene but was arrested nearby shortly afterward. The arrest affidavit reveals that Anthony immediately told police, “I was protecting myself,” before being handcuffed.“He put his hands on me.”

The Crash 

The fatal crash involving Hinton Jr. occurred roughly two hours after the Hinton family reviewed police camera footage

of an officer’s deadly shooting of Ryan, said one of the family’s attorneys, Michael Wright. 

Ryan’s grandfather expressed sympathy to Henderson’s grieving family, but he said nothing about Ryan, a blood relative.

Had Hinton, Jr., not responded to his son’s killing, it would have almost certainly been in the back of the paper before disappearing altogether.

Now it’s a national and an international story published in AfricaNews on May 6.

Across racial lines, Hinton is being called a hero for standing up for his son, but some Black people think he made a big mistake.

So far this year, 387 people nationwide have been killed by police. Most of those killed were Black. 

Cincinnati leads the nation in police killings of Black men. From 2013 to 2023, the Cincinnati police have killed 55 Black men, higher than 99 percent of the rest of the country.