Family holds memorial for 18-year-old killed in officer-involved shooting

CINCINNATI (WXIX) - The family of an 18-year-old killed by police in early May gathered to remember him and release balloons in his honor.

18-year-old Ryan Hinton was shot and killed by a Cincinnati Police Department officer May 1.

Police Chief Teresa Theetge says Hinton, along with three other teens, was found in a stolen car. When officers arrived, they all ran in separate directions.

The body camera video of the 6-second chase is blurry, so it’s hard to see what happened. However, Chief Theetge says Hinton pointed a gun at the officer who fired multiple rounds at the 18-year-old. Cincinnati police say they recovered a semiautomatic handgun from the scene.

“They didn’t have to do that,” Hinton’s brother Diamonte Jackson said. “They gave my brother 6 seconds to live.”

Jackson says it doesn’t appear from the video that Ryan was threatening the officer.

“It’s not right, it shouldn’t have happened,” he said. “I don’t even know how to feel.”

Hinton’s little sister Zuri says she’ll remember him as a dependable big brother.

“Ryan was really the best brother ever,” Zuri says. “And he was funny, and he never gave up on nobody. He always made sure someone was okay.”

Jackson says he and Hinton were close, being born just a year apart.

“That was my little brother, but real soon he turned into my big brother,” he says.

Hinton’s siblings say seeing everyone gathering to support them means so much. They say Ryan was a football player and had recently started a new job.

Family members spoke at the balloon release about hopes of keeping Hinton’s memory alive.

“We gonna make sure Ryan keep living. Long live Ryan, long live Ryan,” a family member said.

Multiple investigations into the shooting are ongoing, including one through the Hinton family’s attorneys.

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