Police were “legally justified” when they fatally shot an 18-year-old Black man in Cincinnati last month and no charges will be filed in the May 1 death of Ryan Hinton, an Ohio prosecutor said Tuesday.
The day after the man’s death, his father was accused of killing a deputy with his car.
Hamilton County Prosecutor Connie Pillich on Tuesday said the Cincinnati police officer “was legally justified in his use of force” against the 18-year-old, who authorities have said was armed.
Officials have said that police fired at Hinton after finding him — and three other people — with a vehicle that was reported stolen.
Hinton and the three others ran when they were approached by officers, and two officers pursued Hinton and another individual, authorities said.
Body camera video shared by the Cincinnati Police Department and reviewed by NBC News shows an officer exiting his vehicle and pointing a gun at Hinton.
Police said that the responding officer — who authorities have not named — fired his weapon at least four times and that Hinton was hit with two bullets.
A gun recovered from the scene belonged to Hinton, Pillich said Tuesday. Officials have also said two magazines were found in his possession.
It’s unclear from the bodycam video if Hinton pointed a gun at officers.
In the video, a second officer can be heard saying, “He’s got a gun! He’s got a gun on your right! On your right!”
The officer said he heard another officer warn about a gun and saw Hinton point it at him before the officer fired his weapon, Pillich said.
“He said ‘I thought, I better get my gun out and shoot him before he shoots me, and I fired before he could fire on me,'” she said.
It “was reasonable in his fear of harm. This shooting was justified,” the prosecutor said. “Police officers are often forced to make split-second decisions in circumstances that are tense, uncertain and rapidly evolving.”
A day after Hinton was killed, his father, Rodney L. Hinton, was arrested and charged with fatally striking a deputy with his vehicle. Police said the two deaths were connected.
Rodney L. Hinton has pleaded not guilty.
Just before the deputy was killed, the 18-year-old’s father had met with Cincinnati Police to watch the body camera video of the shooting, and left the meeting distraught, authorities have said.
The older Hinton was charged with aggravated murder in the deputy’s death. He was denied bond.
The recently retired deputy was working as a special deputy and directing traffic near the university during graduation events, officials said
Michael Wright, an attorney for the Hinton family, denounced Pillich’s decision not to charge the officer.
“Let a group of citizens voting, citizens who are registered to vote, receive the information, take a look at the evidence, understand what the law is, and let them make the decision whether or not charges are appropriate with the appropriate instruction,” he said at a news conference Tuesday.
Pillich said that Hinton’s shooting was the fourth police-involved shooting her office has reviewed. She noted that she has not taken any of them to a grand jury.
“I can’t say that it will never happen in my tenure, but right now, we were able to make the decision because of the evidence presented to me, and I feel very confident that I did that in accordance with the law and with what, with what the actual facts revealed,” she said.
Wright added that the Hinton family is planning to file a civil suit in the shooting.