An Ohio father accused of mowing down a deputy with his car hours after he viewed body camera video of a Cincinnati police officer fatally shooting his son was found guilty Friday of charges including murder.
The jury began deliberating Wednesday morning following days of testimony in Rodney L. Hinton’s murder trial, NBC affiliate WLWT of Cincinnati reported.
Hinton is scheduled to be sentenced on November 16.
Just hours before the May 2025 crash that killed Hamilton County Special Deputy Larry Henderson, Hinton had been called to the police station to watch body camera video of his 18-year-old son fatally shot by a Cincinnati officer.
Police had responded to a report of a stolen vehicle at an apartment complex. Authorities said Hinton’s son, Ryan Hinton, was among a group of people in the allegedly stolen car, and some of them ran when officers approached.
Two officers pursued Ryan Hinton, who police said was armed, and another person.
In video released by police, an officer exits his vehicle and points his gun at Ryan Hinton, who appears to be running away. The officer fired at least four shots, police said at a news conference last year. In another video, an officer yells, “He’s got a gun!” Authorities said the gun was recovered from the scene.
In closing arguments, defense attorney Clyde Bennett II said Hinton had struggled with mental health in the past and that his family was worried about him after he watched the video. Bennett asked the jury to find Hinton not guilty by reason of insanity.
Prosecutors said Henderson saw the car coming at the last second and stepped out of the way, but Hinton “tracked him.”
“He turned his wheel the same direction that Larry moved, and the car struck Larry, throwing him, tossing him into the air, twisting him until he landed,” Assistant Prosecutor Kate Burroughs said in closing arguments.
Burroughs said Hinton’s vehicle went from 0 to over 43 mph in seconds and the accelerator was pressed 93.3%.
“Everything that happened that day was in the driver’s hands,” she said.
During the trial, the defense’s expert witness testified that Hinton did not know right from wrong at the time of the crash, according to WLWT. The state’s rebuttal witness testified that Hinton was grieving and angry but knew his actions were wrong.
Henderson’s wife also took the stand and became emotional as she discussed their last moments together before he left for work, the news station reported.
“He looked at me, and he said, ‘I love you,’ and I remember adding, I said back, ‘I love you too,’” Lori Henderson said, crying.
Henderson had retired from the sheriff’s office about five months before the crash and was working as a special deputy directing traffic near the University of Cincinnati during graduation.
