Cincinnati saw two back-to-back tragedies in the first days of May.
One was a young man shot by police. The other, a police officer allegedly killed by that young man’s grieving father.
On May 1, Ryan Hinton, an 18-year-old, was shot and killed by police officers.
According to official reports and confirmed body camera footage, Ryan had allegedly stolen a car and then fled from police. When officers tried to stop him, they say he pointed a gun at them. The gun was later recovered at the scene—loaded, but not fired.
The next day, as law enforcement was out directing traffic near the University of Cincinnati, a Hamilton County sheriff’s deputy, Larry Henderson, was allegedly run over and killed by none other than Ryan’s father, Rodney Hinton Jr.
Police say Rodney left a private meeting with officers earlier that day, where the family had viewed the bodycam footage of Ryan’s death. He’s now charged with aggravated murder.
While it’s easy and understandable to focus on the emotion—there’s plenty of it—we can’t ignore the bigger picture.
These weren’t random acts. They were the result of a growing pattern we’re seeing across the country: where law enforcement is constantly second-guessed, and where criminals often get the benefit of the doubt before officers do.
In Cincinnati alone, the Police Department’s 2024 annual report showed a 15% jump in officer-involved shootings compared to the year before.
That didn’t happen in a vacuum.
It’s happening as trust in law enforcement is being chipped away by activists, media spin, and politicians who’d rather blame cops than criminals.
Ryan Hinton was fleeing from a stolen vehicle. He had a gun.
And while it wasn’t fired, police say he pointed it at officers. In that moment, a split-second decision was made.
Tragic? Yes. Avoidable? Possibly—but not by the police.
Then came Friday. Rodney Hinton, clearly overwhelmed by grief, allegedly took matters into his own hands in the worst way possible.
He didn’t run over the officer who shot his son—he killed an uninvolved deputy who was simply doing traffic duty.
And now, two families are broken. One has lost a son. Another has lost a husband, father, or brother in uniform.
Yes, we should expect police to be accountable. No one wants bad cops on the street.
But it’s time we stop pretending that every officer-involved shooting is a sign of a broken system.
Body cam footage? Doesn’t matter.
Criminal history? Irrelevant.
Gun recovered? Ignored.
The narrative is already written: police bad, suspect good.
But here’s the truth: if you steal a car, flee the police, and point a gun at them—you are putting yourself and everyone around you in danger. That’s just common sense.
Some are claiming the police overreacted, and are reviving national debates about law enforcement, suggesting that officers need more restrictions and less leeway to do their jobs.
Ask Deputy Henderson’s family if they think the problem is too much policing.
Ask the parents trying to raise their kids in neighborhoods where crime is getting worse, not better, if they want fewer patrols or fewer traffic stops.
Ryan Hinton didn’t have to die. Neither did Deputy Henderson. But the answer isn’t less policing. It’s more responsibility—on both sides.
This article was written with the assistance of AI. Please verify information and consult additional sources as needed.
