XPost: talk.politics.misc, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, alt.law-enforcement
XPost: alt.activism, sac.politics
Wild video shows the moment cops beat down an anti-ICE protester who was
part of a demonstration that blocked a vital bridge out of Cincinnati,
Ohio.
At least 15 people were arrested on felony rioting and various
misdemeanor charges after protesters clashed with cops on the Roebling
Bridge, which spans the Ohio River between Cincinnati and Covington, KY
as they called for the release of a former hospital chaplain detained by
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement earlier this month.
In the dramatic video, a Covington cop is seen repeatedly punching a man
in the head.
The protester, wearing a red Cincinnati Reds baseball cap, was standing
off to the side of the bridge when he was hit and wrestled to the
ground.
As one officer pinned him down, a second continued to punch him while protesters yelled at the cops.
Cops were seen dragging away a female protester who tried to step in,
while another man was shoved to the ground by an officer.
The man in the baseball cap seen getting punched in the head during Thursday’s protest has been named as Brandon Hill.
Cops say he tried to disarm an officer carrying a pepper ball gun when
he was detained, but Hill insisted he was just trying not to get shot.
“If anything like that happened, it’s because a random gun was pointed
in my face,” Hill told WCPO.
He was one of around 100 people who marched across the Roebling Bridge
and blocked traffic as part of Thursday evening’s vigil for Imam Ayman Soliman, an Egyptian immigrant and former Cincinnati Children’s Hospital chaplain, who was detained by ICE on July 9.
Some 50 officers responded to clear the bridge.
The officer who punched Hill thought he was pulling a gun from a bag he
had around his shoulders and chased him to the side of the bridge before
trying to pull him from the railing without falling into the Ohio River, Covington Police Chief Brian Valenti told a press conference Friday.
“The last officer we lost in the line of duty was because he fell off of
a bridge while fighting,” he said.
He admitted that none of the protesters were found to have weapons.
Dramatic police bodycam video showing Hill being hit during his arrest
was also shown during the press conference.
The officer involved was placed on administrative duty with pay while an investigation continues, WCPO reported.
Hill went to the hospital after his release from jail to treat bruises
and scratches to his head, and pepper ball welts to his shins.
His arm is potentially fractured and will require further testing, he
said.
“I did not try to attack anyone. We were there peacefully, exercising
our First Amendment rights,” Hill said.
He said it was too early to say whether he would pursue legal action
against Covington Police officers, but called for additional training.
“It seems like some folks used excessive force,” he said.
https://nypost.com/2025/07/19/us-news/journalists-among-those-arrested-du ring-immigration-related-protest-in-cincinnati/
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