Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Rodney Hinton Jr. for his role in the death of retired Hamilton County Sheriff’s Deputy Larry Henderson.
Investigators say Henderson was struck by a driver around 1 p.m. on Friday, May 2 while directing traffic along Martin Luther King Drive and Burnet Woods Drive; he was working a special detail for UC’s graduation ceremony. Henderson, 57, was rushed to nearby UC Medical Center in critical condition, where he was pronounced dead. Soon after, Cincinnati Police identified the driver of the vehicle as Hinton Jr., 38, father of Ryan Hinton, the 18-year-old who was shot and killed by a Cincinnati Police officer on May 1.
The charges
On Thursday – as mourners gathered for Henderson’s public visitation – Hamilton County Prosecutor Connie Pillich announced Hinton has been indicted on five counts, two of which carry the possibility of the death penalty:
- Aggravated murder (capital death penalty) – two counts
- Murder (special felony)
- Felonious assault – two counts
Pillich said her office plans to pursue the death penalty for Hinton.
“The facts of this case meet the law that’s written in Ohio, that does include the death penalty,” Pillich said. “That’s why we’re seeking it. Apparently, the grand jury agrees.”
When asked about the two separate double counts, Pillich referred to provisions in the Ohio Revised Code on offenses carried out against law enforcement officers.
“Both provisions for this type of aggravated murder are directed for instances when the victim is a law enforcement officer and the defendant either knew [or should have known the victim] is a law enforcement officer,” Pillich said. “In one provision of the revised code, the death is happening while the victim is performing his duties. The second provision of Ohio Revised Code that we think these facts fit is that the murder happens because the defendant was looking to kill a police officer.”
During the press conference, Hamilton County Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey declined to comment on the possibility of the death penalty for Hinton.
“My opinion of the case is a professional one, and my opinion is we as law enforcement officers will continue to do our job,” McGuffey said. “I do not deliver opinions as far as guilt or innocence. That is not my job.”
McGuffey mentioned that deputies were given the time to meet with Henderson’s family ahead of Thursday’s visitation. Henderson will be buried Friday with full honors.
“I understand that tempers are high,” McGuffey said. “I’m asking you to please, please let justice play out in all cases. The criminal justice system is designed in such a way that we all have to participate and we all have to wait, and that’s law enforcement as well. That’s exactly what we will do. We will follow those dictates, and I’m asking the public to understand that it is a very trying time for all of us.”
New timeline details
Thursday’s press conference also included new details about Hinton’s activity in the hours leading up to the fatal crash, which started at CPD’s Criminal Investigation Section (CIS) on Linn Street.
During Tuesday’s bond hearing, witness testimony from CPD Detective Carl Beebe described Hinton as “upset” and “agitated” after reviewing body camera footage of a CPD officer shooting and killing his son, Ryan Hinton. Beebe said people present at CIS at the time were “concerned enough about his emotional state that they did not want him driving.” He said Hinton’s family left CIS around 10:30, leaving Hinton’s car behind.
The newest information announced by Pillich on Thursday fills the two-hour gap between Hinton leaving CIS and returning to get his car before the crash. Pillich said, around 10:30 a.m., Hinton’s family drove him to Findlay Market to try and get him to eat something, but he declined. Then, Pillich said Hinton and his family went to a family member’s home where Hinton took a 30-minute nap. By 12:40 p.m., Pillich said his family drove Hinton back to CIS to pick up his car.
He was followed by family when he left the CIS parking lot, according to Pillich, but he returned about 10 minutes later, driving through the CIS parking lot and leaving again for the last time.
Investigators say evidence shows Hinton drove onto Martin Luther King Drive, where Henderson was in uniform wearing a fluorescent vest, directing traffic for UC’s graduation ceremonies. Pillich said Hinton waited for traffic to clear before crossing multiple lanes, intentionally “targeting the deputy” with his vehicle and drove at him at a high rate of speed. Investigators say Henderson was launched several feet into the air.
Henderson was rushed to UC Medical Center, where he died that same day.
“There were no indications at any point that he tried to brake, stop or otherwise avoid Deputy Henderson,” Detective Bebe testified during the bond hearing.
“The mindset”
Hinton’s attorney, Clyde Bennett, pleaded “not guilty” for his client during Tuesday’s hearing. Bennett indicated he will be filing for a mental competency hearing for Hinton in the near future; Pillich said on Thursday her office has received no evidence about mental health issues.
“This was a very sad day for our community,” Pillich said Thursday. “It’s a very, very tragic situation. A law enforcement officer, simply directing traffic, was purposely targeted and killed because he was doing his job and because he was a law enforcement officer. It was the defendant’s specific purpose to kill a law enforcement officer.”
Hinton’s lawyer stressed his client’s mindset at the time of the crash during Tuesday’s bond hearing, setting the stage for a possible defense strategy in court.
“You don’t know whether or not he was in his right mind at the time that he encountered Deputy Henderson on Martin Luther King Drive and Burnet Woods,” Bennett asked the state’s witness. “We don’t know that, do we?”
The state objected to the question, prompting Bennett to clarify to the judge that considering the mental status of the defendant is central to the decision of holding someone without bond.
“That’s at issue,” Bennett said to Judge Tyrone Yates.
“I believe that the witness indicated that his opinion was that the act was intentional,” Judge Yates responded.
“Right, and in making that opinion about whether it was intentional, you need to know the mindset,” Bennett said, adding, “I’m not saying that my client didn’t try to intend to do this, that’s not my position.”
The chain of events that led to Deputy Larry Henderson’s death
Ryan Hinton
The murder investigation of Deputy Henderson starts with a stolen car investigation in East Price Hill on Thursday, May 1.
That’s when the Cincinnati Police Department said officers responded to an apartment complex near the 2500 block of Warsaw Avenue for reports of a Kia stolen out of Edgewood, Kentucky. According to CPD, officers identified and approached the stolen car when four people exited the car and started to run. Officers ended up arresting two of the men who fled the car, but one suspect – later identified as Ryan Hinton – ran while carrying a firearm. Ryan Hinton, the son of Rodney Hinton Jr., was chased by an officer who alerted another officer of his weapon, according to CPD.
“He’s got a gun, he’s got a gun, on your right,” the officer is heard yelling on body camera footage.
After tripping and dropping his gun and picking it back up, CPD said Ryan Hinton ran between two dumpsters, positioning him near the other officer who ended up firing five rounds at Ryan Hinton, killing him at the scene.
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Body camera footage shows the split-second decision; CPD said the officer fired his weapon when he saw Ryan Hinton point his gun at him, but this is difficult to see in the shaky body camera video provided by the department.
“The officer is running, so the body camera’s kind of jolting as the officer’s running,” said CPD Chief Teresa Theetge following the shooting. “What that leaves us with is very blurred image, unfortunately. However, based on the officer’s interviews, the officer who did discharge his firearm said when the individual came out between the dumpsters, he had the firearm in front of him, he’s in like a bladed position, and it was pointed at the officer, and he felt threatened for his life, and that’s why he discharged his firearm.”
Theetge confirmed Ryan Hinton never fired his gun at any time.
When pressed by reporters on the protocol for armed suspects who are running away from police, Theetge said officers have an overall responsibility to prevent violence.
“This is where we have to go to the state of mind of the officer at the time,” she said. “What are they seeing, feeling, hearing; if they feel like their life, or somebody else’s life is in danger, they have a responsibility to stop that threat.”
The killing of Ryan Hinton has sparked upset in the community and questions about the officer’s use of force. Officials have not released the name of the officer, which is legal under Marsy’s Law. The law, passed by the Ohio Legislature in 2017, created circumstances under which the identities of state actors who have harmed members of the public are automatically kept from the public because they are entitled to victims’ rights, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.
As is mandated in the city’s Collaborative Agreement, there will be two parallel investigations into the shooting of Ryan Hinton by the Citizen’s Complaint Authority and CPD. That bilateral investigation is ongoing. The Hamilton County Prosecutor’s office is also investigating the shooting.
“Let me be very direct: We cannot allow individuals to flee from officers with a loaded firearm aimed at them,” Theetge said. “When this happens, the outcome is almost always tragic. No one wins, and everyone involved is affected.”
Ken Kober, union president of CPD’s Fraternal Order of Police, said the officer had no choice but to fire upon Ryan Hinton.
“Police officers around the country are trained to defend their lives and use deadly force when a suspect points a gun at them,” Kober said. “While no officer wants to be forced to use deadly force, every Cincinnati police officer wants to make it home to their families at the end of their shift.”
Follow CityBeat’s staff news writer Madeline Fening on Instagram. Got a news tip? Email mfening@citybeat.com.
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This article appears in Apr 30 – May 13, 2025.