Plaintiff Rodney L. Hinton, charged with murder after allegedly ramming his vehicle into a retired sheriff’s deputy, has filed a lawsuit against Cincinnati-area law enforcement agencies.
An Ohio man charged with murdering a sheriff’s deputy has filed a $25 million federal lawsuit against the state and several local law enforcement agencies.
Attorney Clyde Bennett, who is representing Rodney L. Hinton in his criminal case, told NBC News that he is not involved in the lawsuit but believes that it was filed by “a woman” on Hinton’s behalf. Bennett emphasized that he does not support this separate, civil claim.
The lawsuit, filed on Thursday, alleges that Hinton “appeared visibly beaten” during a court appearance last week. It also says that the presence of multiple unformed police officers at the hearing created an “atmosphere of fear, surveillance, and intimidation.”
The defendants named in the claim include the State of Ohio, the Cincinnati Police Department, and the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office. Hinton is seeking $5 million in compensatory damages and $20 million or more in punitive damages.
In response to the filing, a spokesperson for the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office said that it had “no comment on pending litigation.”
Hinton, notes NBC News, has pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated murder, one count of murder, and two counts of felonious assault.
Authorities claim that, on May 2, Hinton intentionally accelerated and rammed his vehicle into Hamilton County Special Deputy Larry Henderson. The deputy was, at the time of the incident, helping direct traffic for a University of Cincinnati graduation event.
Although Henderson had retired from the sheriff’s office five months before his death, he had agreed or volunteered to work as a special deputy for the graduation event.
During a bond hearing last week, Cincinnati police officer Carl Beebe said that Hinton recently viewed footage of a fatal police shooting involving his own son.
Family members said that Hinton became so “upset” and “agitated” while leaving the police station that they refused to let him drive home alone. However, not long after Hinton left the station with his relatives, he returned to pick up his vehicle from a parking lot.
From the parking lot, Hinton began driving toward the University of Cincinnati. He appeared to stop briefly near Henderson’s position before he allegedly “accelerated quickly […] through the intersection where Deputy Henderson was standing.”
Hinton’s vehicle ultimately struck both Henderson and a utility pole.
Officer Beebe said in a hearing that there is so far no evidence indicating that Hinton at any point tried to reduce his speed or come to a full stop. Consequently, Deputy Henderson was “launched several feet through the air,” whereafter he “came to rest in a turn lane several feet from where the collision occurred.”
Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge has publicly said that there is a definite connection between Henderson’s death and the May 1 shooting of Hinton’s 18-year-old son, Ryan Hinton.
Ryan Hinton was killed by police after officers responded to a report of a stolen vehicle at an apartment complex. Hinton was inside the vehicle along with at least three other people, all of whom fled upon being approached by police.
Two officers pursued Hinton and another suspect on foot; within a matter of seconds, Hinton was shot and killed.
Theetge has since said that Hinton was armed at the time of his death, and that a firearm was recovered from the scene. Body-camera footage of the shooting is grainy; it is difficult, if not impossible, to determine if and when Hinton pointed a firearm at officers.
However, a preliminary inspection of the footage indicates that Hinton was visibly holding a handgun in the seconds shortly before or after the shooting.
Sources
Here’s what we know about all the investigations into the death of Ryan Hinton
Ohio father who fatally struck deputy with car after son was killed by police files $25M lawsuit
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