City Councilman Scotty Johnston: ‘We as a city have blown this’
Black leaders held a press conference at New Prospect Baptist Church to demand those involved in starting the brawl to be arrested.
- Black leaders demand the arrest of a man they say started the street brawl downtown.
- The community leaders met Aug. 11 at New Prospect Baptist Church and said the man who slapped, a White man, started the riot.
Leaders of Cincinnati’s Black community on Aug. 11 called for the police to arrest the White man who slapped a Black man in the viral Downtown brawl.
Six people, all Black, so far have been charged in the street fight that took place on the corner of Fourth and Elm streets in the early morning hours of July 26.
Pastors, leaders and dozens of members of Cincinnati’s Black community stood in the pulpit of New Prospect Baptist Church in Roselawn and asked why others haven’t been charged, particularly the White man who slapped the Black man right before the fight escalated. It was that slap that started the riot, they said.
New Prospect Baptist Church Pastor and civil rights leader Rev. Damon Lynch III at the meeting asked for the mugshots of the six Black people arrested to be shown on the church’s monitors.
“You charge them with inciting a riot, but you don’t charge the person who incited the riot,” Lynch said. “That’s why state representatives, council persons are here and the community is here, because I don’t know if the city of Cincinnati understands people are not going to sit down for this.”
State Rep. Cecil Thomas, a Democrat from North Avondale, Vice Mayor Jan-Michele Lemon Kearney and Cincinnati Councilman Scotty Johnson were in attendance calling for the slapper to be charged.
“It’s been over two weeks,” Kearney said. “We saw that video. We saw who incited the violence.”
Vice Mayor: ‘Everybody involved in that violence needs to be charged’
Kearney said the slap started the violence. She also referenced the videos that show racial slurs being hurled at the Black people in the fight.
“Everybody involved in that violence needs to be charged,” Kearney said. “And we cannot divide by race and say only the Black people are going to be charged, but we’re not going to charge the White people who incited the violence.”
A message to the Cincinnati Police Department wasn’t immediately returned. Police Chief Teresa Theetge said Aug. 1 the police had tried to interview the man who was accused of the initial slap but were stopped by his attorney.
Johnson hinted at some action that could be forthcoming in the near future but wouldn’t elaborate.
“There is something in the chamber that is coming if there isn’t a move to justice,” Johnson said. After the meeting, he wouldn’t say what that “something” is.
Johnson slams Vance, Moreno: ‘We as a city have blown this’
Johnson lamented the politicization of the event. Johnson, a Democrat, in particular criticized Vice President JD Vance and Sen. Bernie Moreno, a Republican from Cleveland. Republicans have criticized Cincinnati’s all-Democratic city council and mayor for the violence. Moreno has threatened to cut Cincinnati’s federal funding if the city doesn’t come up with a plan to address the violence. Vance weighed in and said the brawl was proof of “way too much lawlessness” in American cities.
“JD Vance and Bernie Moreno have dictated the direction of this investigation,” Johnson said. “We cannot bow to and allow political pressure to skew criminal investigations. We as a city have blown this.”
