CINCINNATI —

Cincinnati police responded to reports of a fight outside Starbucks near the University of Cincinnati campus, early Tuesday evening.

According to police, hundreds of students were standing outside the shops on UC campus.

A viewer shared a video from the scene with WLWT. In the video, you can see multiple engaged in a physical altercation.

Police also received reports of a gunshot heard in the area, but it is believed to have been a fire cracker.

Police deployed pepper spray in an attempt to disperse the crowd, police said.

Three people were detained at the scene including two juveniles and one adult.

No injuries were reported.

Police are currently investigating to find the source of the loud sound and what led to the altercation.

COVINGTON, Ky. — Just ahead of Pride Month, Covington police added another LGBTQ+ liaison to its patrol. It was days before NKY Pride in Mainstrasse.

"Everyone was very receptive," said police specialist Doug Ullrich. "I got to meet a lot of people, shake a lot of hands, be out in the community and help interface the police department with people in the LGBTQ+ community."

Ullrich joined one of the department's original LGBTQ+ community liaisons, Lt. Jennifer Rudolph. She's been in the role since 2016, when she and then-assistant chief Rob Nader started the unit.

"This is just like another resource that we have with ways and avenues to respond to people who are in crisis," Rudolph said.

The pair specialize in building relationships with the community and focusing on breaking down barriers with police when its members become victims of crimes.

"Having liaisons with the community, I think just is one step that we can take to ensure that occurs," Ullrich added.

The department looked to expertise from across the river when the liaison jobs launched. Cincinnati Police Department has had LGBTQ community liaisons since 2013. Covington also turned to the NKY Pride Center and its director Bonnie Meyer.

"The need for the police department to be part of and involved in the community is obvious," Ullrich said.

But relations between law enforcement and the LGBTQ+ community have historic strains. Enforcement of strict and cruel laws meant to criminalize being gay or gender non-conforming people sometimes led to violence. An anti-police riot at New York City's Stonewall Inn in June 1969 is widely credited with starting the modern Pride movement.

Some Pride parades have banned uniformed law enforcement.

"I think, though, when we have officers in the City of Covington who have been allies and supporters that it's important to recognize that, that they're here doing the work," said Covington resident A.J. Miller. "And it's important to build on those relationships."

Miller's already had interactions with Ullrich during planning for the NKY Pride Festival at the beginning of the month. Miller is the festival chair.

"It just adds more of a contact that we can have here in the city of Covington," he said.

And, like in the Cincinnati Police Department, the liaisons are finding their work isn't limited to the community outside the walls of the department. They're helping educate fellow officers, too. One example: language, including pronouns.

"Being familiar with how people want to be referred to, using their proper pronouns and I think that was a big thing with educating ourselves," said Rudolph.

Ullrich agrees.

"A lot of it comes down to just trying to have open and frank conversations," he said. "People we work with who are not as familiar with how to deal with people in the community and how to have that open and respectful conversation and also with community members on how to interact with police."

With Ullrich's addition, there is a liaison on patrol at nearly every hour of the day.

The Covington Police LGBTQ+ liaisons can be reached by email at jrudolph@covingtonky.gov and dullrich@covingtonky.gov.

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CINCINNATI —

Cincinnati and UC police are looking for suspect that vandalized the Cincinnati Hillel Building a few weeks ago.

According to police, around 2:30 a.m. on Dec. 4, two young men were seen destroying plants and throwing dirt on the Hillel House.

The facility is across the street from the University of Cincinnati's campus and serves as a center for the Jewish student community.

In a statement posted online, the facility stated suspects threw dirt, destroyed property and turned over trash cans.

No injuries were reported.

Police are asking anyone with information regarding the incident to contact 911.

CINCINNATI —

Cincinnati police are investigating after a young student was injured at Roll Hill School Tuesday.

Police are investigating allegations that a substitute teacher assaulted a fifth-grade boy. The boy's family said it happened around breakfast time at the school and that the student's homeroom teacher witnessed the incident and stepped in to help.

Cincinnati police tell WLWT the school called the school resource officer, who was not on campus at the time, to investigate after the incident.

According to the boy's mom, the child, who WLWT is only identifying by his first name Mitchell, is wearing a neck brace and has a follow-up appointment with a doctor next week.

"I think he didn't know how to calm down the class and he was mad, and he took it out on me," the student said. "He grabbed my arm, but he was squeezing my arm and told me to go sit down. He slammed my head to the wall and that's when the teacher stepped between us."

There, Mitchell is referring to his homeroom teacher who he said stopped the altercation and got the principal involved.

"If it wasn't for her, I don't even think Mitchell's story would even be heard because it would be his word against their word," said Jamie Coleman, Mitchell's mother.

Coleman got a call from the school principal late Tuesday morning.

"She stated 'Mrs. Coleman, I have your son in the office. He's not in any trouble.' She said 'but I just wanted to let you know that he was mugged by a teacher.' And I was like 'mugged?'" Coleman said. "And she said 'yes, he was mugged by a teacher, and another teacher had to step in to intervene.'"

When she asked her son what exactly happened, he explained the teacher grabbed his face with an open hand and hit his head into the wall.

Coleman said her son complained of head and neck pain at home so she took him to Children's emergency room. His X-rays showed no broken bones, but Coleman said doctors advised him to wear a neck brace for at least the next week until his follow up appointment.

A spokeswoman for Cincinnati Public Schools said the substitute teacher is not teaching while police investigate.

The district released the following statement to WLWT: "On Tuesday, Cincinnati Public Schools received a report that a substitute teacher was involved in a physical altercation with a student at Roll Hill School. A staff member intervened to break up the incident. The student was examined by the nurse and there were no apparent injuries requiring medical attention. CPS informed the parent about the incident and reported it to the Cincinnati Police Department. The substitute teacher was removed from the classroom, pending the results of an investigation. CPS learned today the parent took their child for an additional medical evaluation. We take these allegations very seriously, and are cooperating with CPD during their investigation."

The police investigation is ongoing. So far no charges have been filed.

CINCINNATI — Cincinnati Police are asking the public's help in locating a woman who has been missing for nearly one week.

Carol Robinson was last seen Oct. 30 at Haddon Hall Apartments at 3418 Reading Road in Avondale. Police said her family has not had contact with her in more than two weeks.

Robinson, 63, is listed as 5-foot-4 with brown eyes and black hair. Police said she frequents the downtown area near Hard Rock Casino.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective N. Ward at 513-569-8600. Anonymous tips can also be texted to 847411.

CINCINNATI — Cincinnati Police are investigating an alleged threat made outside a polling place in North Fairmount on Election Day.

According to a police report, the incident happened in the parking lot of 1769 Carll Street just after 9 a.m. Tuesday. The police report said someone drove past a woman in a black pickup truck, yelled an obscenity directed at Democrats and pointed a gun at her before continuing east on Carll Street.

The address is listed as the Carll Street Family Center, a polling location for Hamilton County voters. Ohio law states anyone who commits voter intimidation is guilty of a felony in the fifth degree.

Police have not released information on any suspects or arrests.

ELECTION 2021:

CINCINNATI — In what is called an "unprecedented" rise in violence, the Cincinnati Police Department released a statement about the four shootings that occurred in the city overnight that left two dead and three injured.

• One person was shot and killed at Hawaiian Terrace in Mt. Airy on Wednesday night.
• Two people were shot on Linn Street and were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
• One person was shot on West Liberty Street, but had non-life-threatening injuries.
• One person, Diantes Kemper, 42, was found shot on the 1200 block of West Galbraith Road early Thursday morning. He was pronounced dead at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.

Both of last night's shooting deaths are being investigated as homicides, continuing an upward trend of gun deaths in the city.

"What we have seen in the past 30 days is unprecedented," Cincinnati police stated. "(The Cincinnati Police Department) is continuing to mobilize all of our resources and partnerships to address this violence. We are working with our federal partners like the ATF daily. We will seek federal prosecution for those responsible for our violence. Our message to those individuals committing these brazen crimes, we are coming after you."

Cincinnati Police Assistant Chief Lisa Davis said in a video addressing last night's shootings, the city is inching toward the same number of homicides that occurred in 2020 when there were 82. Cincinnati has had over 70 so far in 2021.

Davis, who runs the department's investigative bureau, said the police department has put a working group in place to deal with the rise in gun violence.

"When looking at numbers, we certainly don't want to compare to 2020, but we are slowly reaching those levels," Davis said in a video statement. "Again, this type of violence won't be tolerated."

Mt. Airy: One dead in shooting at Hawaiian Terrace
West Galbraith: Police investigating early morning homicide

Gun violence has become the biggest issue in the city. Mayoral candidates Aftab Pureval and David Mann addressed the rise in shootings during a debate on Oct. 12. The debate, held at the Warsaw Federal Incline Theater in East Price Hill, was three-and-a-half miles from a triple-shooting that occurred the night before that left two dead. Cincinnati's City Council Neighborhood Committee held a special session the next week to address the violence, but the shootings haven't abated.

Davis said the department is asking for more community involvement, and asked anyone with information on shootings to call Crime Stoppers or use TIP411.

"Everyone deserves a safe neighborhood," Davis said. "We get there through the intelligence portion and the enforcement portion, but the largest part in how we do get there is through community partnership. When we come together against this violence, that's when we end this violence."

Residents can send information to the department through the TIP411 website, or they can call Crime Stoppers at 513-352-3040.

CINCINNATI —

Cincinnati police are investigating a shooting on Purcell Avenue.

District 3 officials say the shooting happened at 11 a.m. Saturday morning.

It's unclear how many victims there were. Police could not offer any details about possible suspects.

This is a developing story. WLWT will provide updates when more information is available.

CINCINNATI — A Cincinnati police officer, accused of storing completed rape kits in his police locker and failing to turn them in to prosecutors, is expected to plead guilty to dereliction of duty as soon as next week, according to his criminal defense attorney, Mike Allen.

Officer Christopher Schroder, repeatedly praised by his police supervisors in recent years for his investigative work, is now suspended with pay following an internal CPD investigation.

"These allegations are incredibly disturbing," wrote Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters Wednesday in a statement provided to WCPO 9 News. "We are working closely with our partners in the Cincinnati Police Department to determine the extent to which these allegations have effected investigations."

"Following the appointment of new leadership at our Criminal Investigations Section in June of 2021 an audit was conducted, and that is how this situation involving Officer Christopher Schroder was brought to light," said Police Chief Eliot Isaac in a written statement released Wednesday. "As soon as the department uncovered this distressing information, swift action was taken."

CPD investigators completed a "comprehensive review of all the cases assigned to Officer Schroder since being assigned to the Personal Crimes Squad has been conducted. Any case that requires action has been prioritized and reassigned," Isaac's statement said.

The CPD declined to respond to the WCPO 9 I-Team's questions about the case or how the police department was apparently unable to account for missing rape kits until recently.

"We have received all your questions, but this is an on-going criminal investigation," CPD Spokeswoman Emily Szink wrote in an email response to our questions.

Schroder's police personnel records show in 2016 he failed to pick up four rape kits for months at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

On Dec. 21, 2016, Sgt. David Simpson met with Schroder "to discuss the importance of picking up rape kits and processing them in a timely manner," according to Schroder's police personnel records.

Micaela Deming, policy director of the Ohio Domestic Violence Network, says delays in prosecuting sexual assault cases create more trauma for survivors.

"I have absolutely spoken with survivors months after still waiting for answers an that makes it difficult," Deming said. "It makes it difficult to heal."

Deming says it's concerning that it required a police audit to find missing rape kits.

In his statement, Isaac said that CPD was focused on making sure something like this doesn't happen again.

Schroder's personnel records show supervisors gave him an overall rating of 'exceeds standards' for each of his last five annual performance reviews.

That includes 2016 when a supervisor counseled Shroder for failing to pick up rape kits for months at Children's Hospital.

CPD said the department took away Schroder's policing powers in August following initial findings of the audit.

Schroder is suspended with pay, according to CPD, pending the outcome of the investigation.

Allen told the WCPO 9 I-Team Wednesday that Schroder had reached an agreement with prosecutors to plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge of dereliction of duty.

But in a statement Thursday, Deters said prosecutors haven't reached a plea agreement with Schroder because all parties haven't signed off on it and it must be approved by a judge.

CINCINNATI — A First Student school bus was involved in a crash with another vehicle in Westwood on Wednesday morning, according to Cincinnati police and Cincinnati Public Schools.

Cincinnati police confirmed there were Taft Elementary School students on the bus at the time of the crash and some had minor injuries, but no one was transported to the hospital.

The students were picked up by their parents.

CINCINNATI — Friday, a group of Black Cincinnati Police officers called for a concrete plan to boost diversity.

The call comes after a federal judge stripped the department of race and sex-based hiring goals, stating "no compelling interest" that justifies keeping the goals.

"We're still dealing with racism," said Louis Arnold, Sentinel Police Association president. "We're still dealing with biases when it comes to hiring and promotion across the country. And so there has to be some checks and balances to make sure those things happen."

RELATED: Judge: CPD can't keep hiring diversity requirements established in 1981 consent decree

Judge Susan Dlott stripped the Cincinnati Police Department of its race and sex-based hiring goals in her ruling. In her decision, Dlott saw no compelling interest to justify them anymore.

Arnold, who association represents Black police officers and Ohio state senator Cecil Thomas see things differently.

"It's going to be up to legislators at the local level" to change the ruling, said Thomas, who is also a former Cincinnati police officer.

The 40-year-old consent decree that Dlott overturned was written when Thomas was an officer. The order targeted discrimination in hiring and promotions of a police force that was just 3% women and with fewer than one in 10 officers of color at the time.

The police department currently has seven times more women on the force, and one in four officers is now Black.

Data also showed slight changes year-to-year, but more women and minorities are holding the ranks of lieutenant or higher over the past decade.

A lawsuit motivated the Department of Justice to look more closely at the matter of the decree.

Sergeant Erik Kohler's discrimination claim led to Dlott's order. The president of the Sentinel Police Association is worried about what happens next.

"With the microscope being on police and community relations across the nation because of the George Floyd murder the citizens want a diverse police department," Arnold said. "They want an officer who can come in and relate to their community and their culture and not just come in with enforcement but coming in looking to build relationships."

The onus is on the Cincinnati police chief, mayor, council and city manager to increase recruitment and create a new policy to boost diversity.

In a statement after Dlott's made her decision, Mayor John Cranley said, "We certainly wish the DOJ did not take this action as the consent decree has been important to our progress. We are evaluating all options to appeal and will do so if possible. We won't stop pressing our case."

While Cranley mounts a challenge before leaving office in four months, Cincinnati Police Chief Eliott Isaac said he has a plan too.

"It is disappointing to see this go away," Isaac said. "I recognized its benefits over the years. We will continue to look towards other avenues to create a diverse workforce that is reflective of the community we serve."

CINCINNATI —

A 40-year-old hiring and promotion policy that helped more women and minorities in the Cincinnati Police Department has been ruled unconstitutional.

The policy was born out of the 1981 consent decree, an effort to improve diversity within the ranks of the Cincinnati police department.

A federal ruling acknowledges that the consent decree has "positively affected the composition of CPD." But a federal judge ruled Thursday that the race-based and sex-based initiative is no longer needed.

The consent decree was signed onto by several parties including the city of Cincinnati, Cincinnati police department and Department of Justice in 1981, at a time women and minorities faced discrimination in hiring and promotion in the department.

The consent decree contains race-based and sex-based hiring and promotional goals for each recruit class and sergeant cohort. Under those goals, the department aimed to make each recruit class 34 percent Black and 23 percent female and to fill 25 percent of sergeant openings with black and female candidates.

According to the federal ruling, in July of 1980, 9.9 percent of the department was Black and 3.4 percent was female.

In January 2021, 28.3 percent of the department was Black and 22.9 percent was female.

The police department has 90 days to confer with the Department of Justice and submit modifications to the consent decree.

"We certainly wish the DOJ did not take this action as the consent decree has been important to our progress," Mayor John Cranley said in a statement. "We are evaluating all options to appeal and will do so if possible. We won't stop pressing our case."

The reconsideration of the hiring and promotion rule was prompted by a lawsuit filed by Erik Kohler, a Cincinnati police sergeant.

"Erik Kohler was promoted, but his promotion was delayed because the city promoted other candidates for sergeant ahead of him simply based on their race, even though they had a lower score on the promotional eligibility list," said his attorney Zachary Gottesman.

The federal ruling Thursday does not apply directly to Kohler's case but Gottesman said it is a win for them.

"Race-based and gender-based promotion and hiring programs can be legal if they meet very strict criteria, and the city has known for years and years that their policy did not comply with those legal requirements," Gottesman said.

CINCINNATI — A woman was killed and five people were hospitalized after a head-on crash along Winton Road on Sunday evening, according to Cincinnati police.

An initial investigation found that 30-year-old Brittany Green had been driving north on Winton Road in her 2005 Chevy Trailblazer when she lost control of the vehicle and struck a 2011 GMC Acadia in the opposite lane, police said.

Green was rushed to University of Cincinnati Medical Center in serious condition and later died of her injuries. A passenger in her vehicle was also hospitalized with serious injuries.

The driver of the Acadia and three passengers, including two juveniles, were also treated for non-life-threatening injuries at area hospitals.

Police have not yet determined if speed or impairment were factors in the crash.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Cincinnati Police Traffic Unit at (513) 351-2541.

Cincinnati police made their first-ever drone-assisted arrest Friday, using eyes in the sky to locate a suspect who had eluded police on foot.

Officers were looking for Sashay Walton, a man with multiple felony warrants for his arrest. They knew he was in a Peete Street building in Over-the-Rhine, but their search had been fruitless until Sgt. Eric Franz flew a drone six stories into the air.

Walton was on the roof, lying down to avoid being spotted from the street.

"Someone on the ground was talking to him on the cell phone and said, ‘Look behind you,’” Franz said. “He turned around and saw the drone. Got up, lit a cigarette up and gave us the one-second sign.”

He was booked into the Hamilton County Justice Center that afternoon.

Franz said drone technology has become another tool police use to monitor traffic, get a birds-eye view of SWAT incidents and monitor crowds at large outdoor events. It’s a smaller, more maneuverable answer to the traditional police helicopter.

Franz added that he wants the focus to be clear: Police are not using them to violate privacy rights or peek in random windows.

"We're not looking for people jaywalking or running red lights,” he said. “We're using this technology to find violent criminals and apprehend them."

Local cybersecurity expert David Hatter said he hopes police departments across the country, including in Cincinnati, will be transparent with video collected from drones as the technology becomes increasingly popular.

“I think it’s the future,” he said. “I think we’ll see more of this as the cost goes down and the capabilities go up.”

Franz said Cincinnati police will get another few drones in September, opening the box to a new generation of law enforcement

“In my lifetime, we'll see (gunfire tracking system) Shot Spotter go off, and we'll see a drone fly, leave a little garage, fly to where the shots were fired, start recording everything and anything on the ground,” he said.

CINCINNATI — Fallout continued Friday for a Cincinnati high school football team after video surfaced this week showing what police believe may be Western Hills/Dater football players holding down a teammate and pulling his clothes off as he struggles to escape.

A Cincinnati police report lists the possible offense as hazing, and the department says the criminal investigation section is now looking into the nature of the video.

Cincinnati Public Schools told WCPO 9 in a statement Friday: “The student who was the target of this incident is being provided with appropriate emotional and mental health services. We ask that you respect his and his family's privacy.”

Thursday, CPS paused football games at the school this weekend and said head coach Armand Tatum has been relieved of his duties.

Friday, Tatum's supporters planned a protest outside the football field.

“I don't believe that Coach Tatum should be punished, because I don't believe he knew it was happening, because he's not in the locker room changing with them," said Antonio Willis. "But the ones involved should be punished to the fullest extent because that's not accepted around here."

Willis said he graduated from the high school in May 2021 and played football under Tatum. He said he never experienced anything like this suspected hazing incident while he played and thinks the district should suspend the students found to be involved.

“They should not be allowed back in school," he said. "I believe maybe they need some sort of counseling for what they did, and especially the victim, because nobody knows what’s going through his mind right now."

Players on the school's current team showed up at the protest to support their coach.

"He would never give up on us," said senior wide receiver and defensive back Joshua Andrews. "So we got to make sure that we don't give up on him."

Members of the team also said they're disappointed with their season being put on pause.

"We shouldn't have to suffer for what happened," Western Hills player Xavier Wright said. "Because it was only that select few that did it.,"

Cincinnati attorney Richard Goldberg told WCPO any student who took part could face criminal charges. He said those who shared the video could, as well.

“That’s potentially a criminal offense, and it carries very, very serious ramifications," Goldberg said. "You know, sexual registration ramifications. It’s very serious."

The school district said it is determining discipline for those involved and anyone who shared the video. Any students who may currently have the video on their device should delete it immediately, officials said.

When asked if the students have been expelled, district officials said they cannot comment, per CPS' privacy policy. WCPO asked if Tatum stepped down or if the district fired him. The district said that is a private personnel matter. Goldberg said the coach and school administrations could face legal action depending on what the police investigation finds.

“Did the coach know anything? When did he know it? What did he do about it?” Goldberg said. “Did the school or principal know what was going on? Should they have known?”

NEWPORT, Ky. —

It was this time last year, a high-speed Cincinnati police chase ended with a crash in Newport.

Two people were killed and two people were seriously hurt.

Now loved ones and the survivors are suing those involved including the city and the officers.

It is still hard for family members to understand how a high-speed chase carried on in such busy areas.

Through their pain, they want to make sure it never happens again.

"I do not believe that my parents would forgive the police, nor forgive Mason Meyer for what happened," Angela Laible Endress said.

Endress and her family are working through incredible pain, even a year later.

Her family is fighting for justice for her parents who were killed when a high-speed chase involving Cincinnati police ended with a horrific crash outside Press Café in Newport last August.

"They were married for 55 years and they were still in love," Endress said.

Ray and Gayle Laible lived, shopped and dined in Newport.

That's what attorneys said they were doing when Mason Meyer, who was being chased, crashed into them and severely hurt Steven and Maribeth Klein nearby.

"If God came down and asked my parents, 'OK, two of you have got to pass on and two of you have got to survive' and my parents, I know in their heart would say, 'This is a young couple that have children. We've had a wonderful life. We can move on.' I believe that," Endress said.

Both families are now suing the City of Cincinnati, the officers involved: Timothy Lanter, Brett Thomas and Donald Scalf, as well as Meyer and others.

"There are plenty of days where I can't drive down that road. Absolutely not. I literally go five blocks out of the way to avoid it," Endress said.

Attorneys allege Cincinnati police officers initiated a reckless chase after Meyer, who was under investigation for selling guns.

The lawsuit said officers violated numerous policies and safety rules, and they drove more than 100 miles per hour as the pursuit spanned congested areas from Price Hill to Newport.

Attorneys said a car was sideswiped and a motorcyclist nearly toppled over.

The lawsuit says the pursuit should have been terminated because it was dangerous and officers knew where to find Meyer.

It makes several claims including personal injury, wrongful death and negligence in supervision and training.

Attorneys allege the officers were incompetent in their conduct and knowingly violated the law.

"I don't care if this lawsuit takes one day or ten years. I will still be there fighting for them for their justice because that's what my parents taught me to do," Endress said.

The attorneys allege since 2011, there have been nearly 150 pursuits initiated by Cincinnati police officers ending in crashes.

The City of Cincinnati has not returned our numerous requests for comment.

CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Police Department honored a cadet who lost her life to gun violence – the youth services unit dedicated a room to Aurora McCarter, who was killed last year, hoping it will spark positive change in the community.

“She made everybody smile. She was just like a great cadet. You would have been very great to meet her,” police cadet Ka-Lija Todd said. “It would have been very great, like she was extremely sweet, and I feel like everybody should get to know her even though she’s not on this Earth with us anymore.”

The walls of the Aurora McCarter teen room are a canvas – the plan is to decorate the walls with art in her memory.

“I think it’s going to be a special place and a safe place that young people can come and spend time,” Cincinnati Police chief Eliot Isaac said.

The goal is to prevent what happened to McCarter from happening to anyone else – to put an end to youth violence.

“It takes everyone to solve this problem, we all need to be a part of the solution,” Isaac said.

Groups from across the Tri-State have stepped up to play their part. Q-KIDZ Dance Team is putting their emotion into art and their “Stop the Violence” musical.

“I hope it is life-changing for someone, you know. I hope it gives them the message to put the noise down,” Q-KIDZ Dance Team founder and director Marquicia Jones-Woods said. “I hope it gives the message of love that we need more love.”

The Q-KIDZ will perform “Stop the Violence” at Smale Park Aug. 13 and at Washington Park on Aug. 15.

“Dance is an outlet for my kids,” Jones-Woods said. “Dance is the opportunity for them to come and release whatever is going on with their day-to-day life. They can come in here and they can leave it on the dance floor.”

“To see, you know, other organizations willing to engage with our young people – I think that’s going to make a difference,” Isaac said. “We’ll see, you know, our city turn the corner.”

Listen to this episode of the Hear Cincinnati podcast in the player above.

This week on the Hear Cincinnati podcast, host Brian Niesz is joined by community reporter Lucy May and senior manager of enterprise/investigative Meghan Goth to discuss a new nonprofit that’s working to fight hunger, a Black-owned burger spot prospering from West End’s gentrification, a 3-year-old attacked with a knife, and more.

Next, Brian is joined by WCPO reporters Courtney Francisco and Kristen Swilley to explain what happened to James Hutchinson, the 6-year-old whose mother confessed to killing him as she tried to abandon him.

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CINCINNATI —

Cincinnati police lined up Thursday to be armed with a new weapon, but this one isn’t for fighting crime. It’s for fighting COVID-19.

About 300 officers were vaccinated on the first day of Cincinnati police vaccinations.

“I walked into this with the mindset that this is necessary,” said Cincinnati police officer Fred Gilmore. “What better way to serve the community than staying healthy.”

The Cincinnati Health Department administered the shots at the Cincinnati Police Academy.

“Police, they’re calling, they’ve been calling. ‘When are we next on the list?’ I’m just excited for today,” said Cincinnati nursing director Virginia Scott.

“It’s a big deal,” said Cincinnati police executive assistant chief Terri Theegee. “You can see the excitement of the officers coming in to get their first dose of vaccine.”

Theegee said it’s been difficult on officers who have had to perform the same even at times when the most dangerous adversary they’re facing is invisible.

“It’s hard to ask them to go out, hands-on with citizens, go into homes, businesses, places that we don’t know what the impact will be on their health,” Theegee said.

More officers will be vaccinated next week.

CINCINNATI — Twenty additional police officers went on patrol across the city Friday night. Many walked; some biked. Chief Eliot Isaac said he hopes having more officers out in the community will calm Cincinnatians’ nerves and discourage crime after a deadly July 4 shooting in Smale Park.

“Good idea,” said Ingrid Robinson, who went for a walk in the park Friday with her great-nieces and nephew. “And I think it keeps some of the, excuse my language, riff-raff away, the troublemakers. They need that down here."

Sixteen-year-old Milo Watson died at Smale on July 4. Police believe he was shot by — and was shooting at — 19-year-old Dexter Wright, who died shortly afterward at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. Three other teenagers were struck in the crossfire but survived.

Neither gun had been recovered by Friday night.

District 1 commander Capt. Matthew Hammer, whose district includes Over-the-Rhine, Pendleton and the West End, began overseeing increased foot patrols in his neighborhoods several months ago.

"Our presence (is) so that we can monitor the situation, so we can provide a sense of safety and security and make sure folks know that we're here, available, we're ready and willing to act if necessary,” he said Friday. "It's all about being agile, it's about having the right resources available at the right places at the right time. So depending on how we organize our officers, if we can have a contingent that can respond quickly as circumstances change throughout the city, I think that's really useful.”

Tammy Marhart, who lives along the riverfront, visited Smale on Friday, too.

“It makes me feel pretty safe,” she said of the added police presence. “It’s just something that I feel like that will be noticed, and it’ll make people feel safe all over.”

CINCINNATI — Cincinnati police are trying to identify a man wanted for rape and kidnapping in Carthage on Sunday.

Police said the incident occurred along the 6600 block of Vine Street in the early morning.

The man is in his mid-30s, stands 5-foot-8, weighs 175-200 pounds, is Black and may frequent the Carthage and Bond Hill neighborhoods.

Police also released surveillance footage of the suspect from a Dayton travel stop, seen wearing gray sweatpants and a black jacket.

Anyone with information on the incident or the man's whereabouts is asked to contact Officer Kyle Smith at (513) 352-6912.

CINCINNATI — A police pursuit ended in a crash Downtown that sent three people to the hospital, according to Cincinnati Police.

Police at the scene of the crash said officers witnessed a black SUV engaged in drug activity at Eighth and Linn Streets. They initiated a traffic stop, and the vehicle fled. Police believe one of the occupants in the SUV discarded drugs during the pursuit.

The black SUV crashed into a silver SUV at East Eighth and Walnut Streets before 8 p.m.

One person in the silver SUV was taken to UC Medical Center, and another was taken to Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. Both have minor injuries, police said.

Police said the driver of the black SUV, who has warrants out of Texas, was not injured. The passenger in the suspect vehicle was transported to UCMC as a precaution. Authorities did not release the identity of the driver or the passenger.

LOCKLAND, Ohio — The Hamilton County Sheriff's Office says a Lockland police officer fired shots at a man who allegedly attempted to fire shots at him during a traffic stop.

The incident happened Tuesday afternoon at 300 Wyoming Ave., according to a release from the sheriff's office, Lockland Police and Cincinnati Police. No one was struck during the shooting, police said.

The man then fled, receiving "assistance from another person" in a vehicle. Undercover officers caught up with the car and suspect a little more than a mile south in Roselawn and ended up crashing at 7901 Reading Rd. The man tried to flee again and was apprehended after a Cincinnati Police officer shocked him with a Taser.

Police identified the man as 22-year-old Dale Allen Smith III, and he was taken to a local hospital for minor injuries.

Smith has now been charged with attempted murder, aggravated robbery, resisting arrest and harassment with a bodily substance.

Previously, Smith had been charged with 10 felony counts and two misdemeanor counts stemming from an incident on March 18, according to Hamilton County court documents. In February 2019, Smith accepted a plea deal for drug trafficking charges and received three years community control. Later that year, he was arrested for aggravated possession of drugs and sentenced to one year in prison.

Nicholas Dickey was working nearby when the shooting occurred.

"Heard a couple pops. I thought it was a train. There was a train nearby. I was told afterward we're going on lockdown, there was a shooting across the street," Dickey said.

The investigation into this incident is ongoing. Anyone with information on this incident is asked to call the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office at (513) 825-1500.