Cincinnati police chief vows to release more footage of viral brawl that left woman knocked out cold
Authorities could reveal more video, including from body-worn police cameras, by next week, Police Chief Teresa Theetge said at a press conference — as a city faith leader alleged that a white man helped fuel the wild street violence during a press conference Wednesday.
The wild weekend fight went viral — and quickly became racially charged — earlier this week when footage showed black suspects beating two white victims.
Advertisement
4 Police Chief Teresa Theetg said the footage tells 'a little more of the story.'
FOX19 NOW | Cincinnati
4 Holly was left with a huge black eye and busted lip during a horrifying, now-viral Cincinnati brawl
@berniemorenoforohio
4 Five people have been charged in the attack.
@berniemorenoforohio
But Pastor Damon Lynch said from footage he's seen, a black man and white man were squaring off before cooler heads prevailed. He then claimed the white man reengaged and slapped a different black man.
Advertisement
'So after that, he was met with disproportionate force,' the faith leader claimed while calling out national politicians for 'politicizing' the incident.
Theetge said the department is holding the additional footage as it might jeopardize the ongoing probe.
4 The video appeared to show a white man and woman being targeted by a group of largely black assailants.
X
Six suspects have been charged so far in connection to the disturbing street violence, with two men and one woman under arrest, according to authorities. The three other suspects are on the lam and will not be identified until they are in custody.
Advertisement
Police have said Montianez Merriweather, 34, and Jermaine Matthews, 39, allegedly ambushed a male victim, while Dekyra Vernon later allegedly sucker-punched a Russian tourist, knocking her out.
Matthews is facing aggravated riot and numerous assault charges, while Merriweather and Vernon were slapped with assault and aggravated assault raps.
The woman who was knocked suffered horrific bruises, including a black eye and bloody lip, according to photos released by US Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) this week.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Justice Department opens grand jury probe into investigation of Trump and Russia: Reports
The Justice Department has escalated efforts to investigate those behind the years-old probe into Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election by launching a grand jury probe. The Justice Department has opened a grand jury investigation into allegations that Obama administration officials broke the law when they investigated Russia's involvement in the 2016 presidential election, according to news reports. Attorney General Pam Bondi signed an order Aug. 4 directing a federal prosecutor to present evidence to the grand jury, Fox News and the Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources familiar with the investigation. The Justice Department declined to comment. The move marks a major escalation of the Trump administration's efforts to investigate the investigators behind the years-old probe. Robert Mueller, who ultimately took over the probe as special counsel, concluded that the Russian government interfered to help then-presidential candidate Donald Trump defeat Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, but that there was not evidence anyone in the Trump campaign colluded with Russia. The new criminal probe follows allegations National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbardmade at a July 23 press briefing that the Obama administration pushed a 'contrived narrative' that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to benefit Trump. That same day, the Justice Department announced it was creating a "Strike Force" to assess evidence highlighted by Gabbard and "investigate potential next legal steps." When Trump was asked on July 22 about his Justice Department's conduct when it comes to investigating convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Trump pointed to allegations from Gabbard, saying she caught Obama "absolutely cold" and Obama had committed treason. Obama responded that Trump's remarks were a "weak attempt at distraction." Contributing: Sudiksha Kochi, Kinsey Crowley - USA TODAY
Indianapolis Star
3 hours ago
- Indianapolis Star
'They were her whole world.' Crash leaves 4-year-old without grandmother
Rabbi Benjamin Sendrow admired how much joy and love could be seen on Susan Rose Schwab's face whenever she talked about her daughter and granddaughter, even after all the tragedy her family had experienced. Schwab had become the adoptive mother to her grandchild, Amoni, after her daughter was killed in a shooting in Castleton almost five years ago. 'They were her whole world,' Sendrow said. 'And after Meghan's death, she doted and adored her granddaughter.' Amoni's father, Michael Beasley Jr., has been in and out of jail since Meghan Schwab's death, Indianapolis police records show, and Susan Schwab became Amoni's primary caregiver. The grandmother took pride in raising Amoni, so much so that she would send photos of her granddaughter to people in the congregation every time the girl achieved a new skill. The last photo she sent was of Amoni learning how to write her name. The next day, on July 26, Schwab died in a single-vehicle crash at the intersection of Meridian and 91st streets after her 2012 Toyota Camry hit a tree. Amoni was in the car at the time and, fortunately, survived the crash's impact. Bystanders worked together to pull Amoni out of the vehicle. They provided aid until emergency medical personnel arrived and transported her to Riley Hospital for Children in critical condition. For days, Amoni was 'fighting for her life,' Sendrow said. But on Aug. 4, Sendrow and his wife were informed that Amoni's condition had stabilized and she had started her 'long road of recovery.' As people began to make their way inside the Ohev Zedeck Cemetery in south Indianapolis on July 31, a wave of somberness could be felt as they noticed the two Schwab graves. The death of Susan Schwab came as a shock to many at her funeral. Although she was in her 70s, people seem to forget that detail due to how active she was every week, juggling her duties to the congregation while trying to raise a 4-year-old. 'She was a person who always put others before herself,' Sendrow said at her funeral. Schwab spent much of her life focusing on and guiding the next generation of Hoosiers. A native Hoosier, she graduated from Broad Ripple High School and the University of Michigan. When she moved back to Indiana, she dedicated herself to serving the community. She spent her career as a teacher, ensuring kids knew how to read before they left her class in elementary school. She served as the president of the Lawrence Education Association for several years, with the hope of supporting teachers and improving the school district. In her late 40s, Schwab adopted Meghan, an infant from Russia. Schwab adored her daughter, Sendrow said. 'She would always talk so highly of her daughter,' Sendrow said. 'Her daughter was so smart, she knew Hebrew and Russian.' In 2020, Schwab shared with IndyStar that her daughter was planning to study radiology; however, there was a moment when she considered being a veterinarian. It was a future she wished she could have experienced with her daughter. Schwab was the only mother that Amoni ever knew. She was the woman Amoni called out for when she was trapped in the car, and in the few moments of consciousness she experienced at the hospital. Perhaps that's what made Schwab's death hit harder for the dozens of people who gathered at her grave. When Rabbi Sendrow asked God to help guide Schwab to him and watch over Amoni, rain began to fall. It was a moment noticed by all in attendance, with several beginning to weep as the soil above her grave turned wet and muddy. On Aug. 4, Sendrow shared with IndyStar that he and his wife, Arlene, were in the process of becoming Amoni's legal guardians and working on a way to set up a trust fund that she can use for her education. 'We want to do what's best for Amoni,' Arlene Sendrow said. 'She's gone through a lot in such a short time.'
CNN
5 hours ago
- CNN
Moldova jails pro-Russian regional leader for election fraud weeks before crucial vote
A court in Moldova has sentenced a Kremlin-friendly regional politician to seven years in prison for funneling money from Russia to finance a political party. Evgenia Gutul, the leader of Gagauzia, a historically pro-Russian ethnic region in southern Moldova, was detained in March on suspicion of electoral fraud and sentenced on Tuesday. Prosecutors said that from 2019 to 2022, Gutul channeled undeclared funds into the country to finance a political party founded by Ilan Shor, Reuters reported. Shor is a pro-Russian businessman who has been convicted of fraud in Moldova and now lives in exile. Gutul's conviction comes just weeks before Moldovans vote in a crucial parliamentary election, in which Maia Sandu, the pro-Western president of the former Soviet country, is hoping to retain her governing majority. Sandu was reelected as president last year in a vote held on the same day as a referendum on joining the European Union, which Moldovans backed by a razor-thin majority. Both votes were marred by what prosecutors said was a massive vote-buying scheme orchestrated by Shor, who has spent much of his time in Russia since he was convicted for his role in the 2014 theft of $1 billion from Moldovan banks. Before the referendum, Moldova's national police chief said some 130,000 citizens had received a total of $15 million from Shor in exchange for voting 'no' or persuading others to do so. The police chief said it was 'clear' that Russia was financing the scheme; Moscow has denied meddling in Moldovan politics. Gutul, a former secretary for Shor's now-banned party, was elected governor of Gagauzia in 2023. That election also drew accusations of vote-buying. Last year, Gutul was sanctioned by the EU for actions 'destabilizing' Moldova and promoting separatism in her region. Gutul denies wrongdoing and claims her prosecution was politically motivated. In March, she penned a letter to Donald Trump, claiming that she, like the US president, had been subjected to 'propaganda efforts and pressure from the corrupt globalist elites.' Responding to her sentencing Tuesday, Gutul said she would appeal the ruling, which she claimed was an attempt to intimidate Gagauzians 'who dare to vote' for a party other than Sandu's Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS). 'This decision has nothing to do with justice. This is a political reprisal, planned and executed on orders from above,' she wrote on Telegram. The Kremlin also claimed the verdict was politically motivated, and that Moldova was systematically suppressing the opposition. 'In effect, people are being deprived of the opportunity to vote for those they prefer. Of course, what we are seeing is a clear violation of democratic rules and norms in this country,' Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday. Moldova's parliamentary election will be held on September 28. Although Sandu's PAS won by a landslide in the last vote in 2021, Moldova has since faced major economic and security challenges spilling over from Russia's invasion of Ukraine, stirring anti-government sentiment in parts of the country.
