Ken Kober - Officer Justified in Hinton Shooting

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
At seven thirty fifty five carcy De Talk Station, A
very happy Wednesday to one hour from now Judge Annapolitano
on the Trump, the war, and the Constitution the meantime.
Welcome back to the fifty five Caarasy Morning Show. It's
also players. They have Ken cob Or FOP president for
the CINCINNT Police Department, on to talk about matters related
to the police. Ken, welcome back. It's good to have
you on this morning.

Speaker 2 (00:22):
Hey, good morning, Brian, thanks for having me.

Speaker 1 (00:23):
Local development in the eighteen year old Ryan Hinton we
was shot after fleeing a stolen vehicle with a firearm
in his hand. Hamilin County Prosecutor County Pillage said yesterday
it was justified. And I know the Clinton family or
Hinton family rathers does not agree with that, but prosecutorial discretion.
Apparently she looked at all the evidence and said, yeah,

(00:45):
it was reasonable for him to fire on Hinton because
he was carrying a firearm and was waving it around
at him. Your response to this, I presume you were
pleased with the outcome.

Speaker 3 (00:55):
Oh, without a doubt. I mean, this was something that
we fully expected was coming. I wish it would have
been sooner. But I also understand that, you know, Prosecutor
Pillach is new at her job, and you know, I'm
glad that she took the time to look at all
the evidence and came to the same conclusion I think
everybody else is going to.

Speaker 1 (01:11):
Well, she had things to like attend to protest over
the weekend, so you know, you got to give her
some time to get her politics out.

Speaker 4 (01:19):
You're not touching. That not a good look, You're not.

Speaker 2 (01:22):
It's certainly not a good look.

Speaker 4 (01:24):
Anyway.

Speaker 1 (01:25):
So this, obviously the my understanding is the officer is
back on the job. Never been named, and I was
pleased that they didn't name him because we all know
in this modern world with doc seeing and attacks on
members of you know, elected officials and others, that this
officer certainly could have faced a lot of that. So
the officer is back at work, is that correct?

Speaker 3 (01:47):
That's correct. I talked to the officer probably three times
this week about some of these things that are going on.
Back to work doing well. I think this is probably
going to be a step in the right direction to
be able to kind of be able to move on
with the rest of their career in life.

Speaker 4 (02:04):
And this kind of thing.

Speaker 1 (02:06):
I suppose it's impossible for anyone who has not been
involved in a situation where their life is in jeopardy,
where someone is standing who obviously is at least at
least by all evidence, appears to have been engaged in
criminal conduct. To start, they were in a stolen vehicle
and they were fleeing the law enforcement officers who and

(02:27):
you correct me if I'm wrong, we're ordering them to stop, halt,
don't run away. That the adrenaline flow, the rush and
all that. This use of deadly force is judged by
a reasonableness standard. Is a person in that position reasonably
justified in using deadly force given what they're facing? And

(02:48):
you know, I guess this is one of the dangers
of being in law enforcement. Not only are you faced
with this in a higher percentage of circumstances. I mean,
you guys got to have to worry about this all
day long. But when public outcry and the whole era
of defund the police and the police are a bunch
of races. Kind of a mindset that somebody have out there,
you kind of have that going through your head too.

(03:09):
I imagine you like a hesitance that may result in
you losing your own life.

Speaker 3 (03:15):
Sure, you know you hit the nail on the head.
It's it's what a reasonable officer would do at that time.
It's not there's nothing that says that, you know, this
person has to have shot at you, has to have done,
you know, pointed a gun at you, all these things,
even though in this case it was clear that's what happened.
People get caught up in that. Well he was shot
in the back. Well he wasn't shot in the back.

(03:36):
But there's nothing that says that a policeman can't shoot
somebody in the back. You know, the law is very
very clear. It's what a reasonable person would do in
that situation. I think any reasonable person if they have
somebody that's running towards them with a gun and points
it at them as they're running by, that is an
absolutely reasonable response is to protect excuse me, to protect.

Speaker 4 (03:55):
Yourself, particularly a couple.

Speaker 1 (03:57):
Since there were police officers there too for the purposes
of arresting them because they were in a stolen vehicle.
I mean they you know, you can project onto what
they might be thinking, the criminals.

Speaker 4 (04:09):
The the the the people who stole the car.

Speaker 1 (04:12):
Oh my god, the police are there I'm going to
get into trouble, and the reaction may be I'm gonna
shoot at him, I'm gonna defend myself, I'm gonna try
to get away. I mean, that's all factored into the
whole mix of emotions that you must use a split
second in order to make a determination. It's it's overwhelming,
and I wish more people would contemplate that, well, you're.

Speaker 3 (04:32):
The reality is that the people that are saying that
this isn't justified are the same people that take absolutely
no accountability for anything, no accountability for their actions for
anybody else's because they're all saying, well, yeah he was
in a stolen car, and yeah he had a gun,
but and.

Speaker 2 (04:50):
There is no butt.

Speaker 3 (04:51):
When you run around with the police with a gun,
you should expect that you're going to be shot.

Speaker 2 (04:55):
It's really that simple.

Speaker 1 (04:56):
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Speaker 5 (06:37):
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(07:44):
talk station at.

Speaker 1 (07:46):
Seven thirty nine fifty five KRCIT talk station Brian Thomas
with fo KEY President Ken Kober talking about the officer
involved shooting Ryan Hinton no longer with us, of course,
his father ended up going and going after a sheriff's
deputy ran him over and killed him. Completely different scenario though,
but Helin County Prosecutor Countie Pillage said, no, he is
cleared of any wrongdoing. He was appropriate in his use

(08:07):
of deadly force, so there will be no nothing going
to the grand jury. The Hinton family obviously not real
thrilled about this. They lawyered up and they're threatening a
civil lawsuit. Check me if I'm wrong, though, can Kober?
Under the current state of the law, officers are immune
from liability in connection with damages or injury incurred while
they were doing their job. Coupled with the prosecutor's recommendation

(08:30):
that no crime had been committed, here sounds to me
like they're in a pretty damn shaky ground. Your reaction
to the idea of a civil lawsuit, who would they
go after?

Speaker 2 (08:39):
Well, that's the million dollar question is who are you
going to go after?

Speaker 3 (08:41):
You know, the officer was deemed by the prosecutor to
have acted reasonably. He didn't violate any policies or procedures,
so underqualified immunity. When an officer acts reasonably and they
follow the law, they're immune from any liability.

Speaker 2 (08:55):
I don't know.

Speaker 3 (08:55):
Maybe they're going to sue the city and hope that
the city settles them. Settles like they do with just
about everything else.

Speaker 1 (09:01):
Well, that will be a shame, be almost an admission
of liability by the city that they shouldn't. They should
fight that. That's what our taxpayer dollars are there for
it was reported in I guess Fox nineteen's Mary Labas
reported and it doesn't matter where the information came home.
But apparently in addition to announcing this possible loss, that
the lawyer said that he has access to information that,

(09:23):
in his words, has not been made public regarding the
officers who are at the scene of the shooting that day.
Didn't go into any detail about what that information is.
I don't suppose you have any concept or idea what
they're talking about. But if there were other officers there
who were not involved in the shooting, what difference does
it make what they have regarding those officers.

Speaker 3 (09:45):
Yeah, well, it's funny because if he had this information
that's secret, why would they have not turned it over
to the prosecutor's office for them to examine.

Speaker 4 (09:51):
Ooh good point.

Speaker 2 (09:53):
So yeah, I don't. I don't.

Speaker 3 (09:54):
I don't buy any of that smoking mirrors that that
they're trying to put out to the public.

Speaker 1 (09:58):
Now sens the Jenna public unrep over the whole thing,
which I suppose may very well happen in these shaky
times in which we live. So update on police morale,
it looked like the city council was planning on doing
what I believe you were calling for, is getting some
lateral hires in to deal with the waxing numbers of

(10:20):
or waning numbers of police officers on the CINCINNT Police Force.
Last time we talked, I mean, it's kind of frightening
how few officers are actually out on patrol given the
current contingent.

Speaker 3 (10:31):
Yeah, I mean, just lateral class that the city's apparently
going to pass in their budget is certainly a step
in the right direction, you know, but this is something
that's likely going to have to be done every year,
coupled with our traditional academy to be able to get
our numbers back to.

Speaker 2 (10:45):
Where they need to be.

Speaker 1 (10:46):
I saw that they were doing three academies over the
next several years at fifty per academy. But given the
attrition rate that you brought up here in the morning show,
that's going to kind of probably keep you at static
levels unless they do get a sufficient number of lateral
classes exactly.

Speaker 3 (11:04):
And you know, in these lateral classes are officers that
are already trained. They're experienced officers that you can do
an abbreviate academy and then be able to come in
and be able to make a meaningful impact, you know,
the first day they get out there, because they're they're
not new, they are experienced officers, and it's something that
that's what we're gonna have to do if they're going
to if they're really serious about getting us back to

(11:25):
what our compliment is the only way to do that
is to have multiple classes in the same year. Otherwise
we're not going to get back to our numbers.

Speaker 2 (11:32):
We're just going to keep falling. Well.

Speaker 1 (11:34):
And I mentioned the this this anti police sentiment that
was all the rage there a few years ago. You
got the impression that everybody in every neighborhood hated the
police department. What do you hear from your officers who
are out on patrol. Do they feel as though they
have community support for their presence?

Speaker 3 (11:52):
I think, by and large, you have the community that
wants the police there.

Speaker 2 (11:57):
You really do.

Speaker 3 (11:57):
You got you got the vocal minority that it doesn't
matter what the police are going to do.

Speaker 2 (12:01):
They're going to hate them. They're going to say they
did the wrong thing.

Speaker 3 (12:04):
But when you go to these communities and you see,
you know, the average working class person that's in these communities,
they want the police there. They know the police are
there to make them safer so they can live in
their community.

Speaker 2 (12:16):
But like I said, it's a vocal.

Speaker 3 (12:18):
Minority that want to stand up and criticize the police.
We're always going to have that, but when you get
into these actual communities that the support is there, well.

Speaker 1 (12:27):
You know, and I and much in the same way
I criticize Cincinnti Council in the mayor for not more
actively supporting the Cincinnti Police Department in law enforcement generally speaking.
And it's not that they're against them, of course, they're
voting for dollars for new classes, they're voting for lateral hires.
That suggests some support, but not a whole lot of
people paying attention to line items and budgets. But there's

(12:48):
sort of silence on the whole out loud regular support
of the police department really kind of irks me. And
I think, you know, sincinnt Police, given where morale is,
at least from where I'm led, it's led to believe
it is, they could certainly use that type of active engagement.
I would like to think that you know, these communities
out there would rebel against the anti police sentiment, and
would more out loud express support for the police now

(13:11):
that you're hearing it and feeling that when patrolling these
communities is a wonderful thing. And I'm glad to know
that those who are are who reject the police or
think they're bad are the minority out there. But you know,
out loud support is a completely different element, and I
think that would go a long way to helping this
insane police accomplish its job and patrolling and keeping our
streets safe.

Speaker 3 (13:32):
Now you hit anail on the head, you know, you
can you can walk, you know, out out in the
community and have somebody shake your hand and say listen,
not everybody feels a way that you're hearing on social
media whatever.

Speaker 2 (13:42):
Out you know, they shake your hand and say, we
support the police. But you're right.

Speaker 3 (13:45):
The other part of that is having city leaders standing
up earth and outwardly saying, look, we support the police,
we support what they're doing, you know, and that's that
That means probably just as much, if not more than
it does from hearing it from some many the community.

Speaker 1 (13:59):
Yeah yeah, how about a tweet or some social media
posts from council members of the mayor talking about exactly
that they've be elevated to a level of attention. Plus
it will be widely reported because again the silence it
seems to be deafening. FOP President Ken Cober, God bless
you and the work that you and the since a
police department.

Speaker 5 (14:16):
Do.

Speaker 1 (14:16):
I appreciate you coming on the morning show and sharing
your thoughts and comments on these events as they unfold.
And uh, we'll keep our you and every police officer
and our thoughts and prayers.

Speaker 2 (14:26):
All right, Brian, thanks for having me.

Speaker 1 (14:27):
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