Ohio father found guilty of murdering deputy hours after viewing son’s shooting

An Ohio man was found guilty of murder Friday for striking a sheriff’s deputy with his car, hours after watching police body-camera video of an officer fatally shooting his 18-year-old son.

A jury convicted Rodney L. Hinton, 40, in the May 2025 death of Hamilton County Special Deputy Larry Henderson. Hinton was also found guilty of reckless homicide and felonious assault, The Guardian reported. He faces 15 years to life in prison, with sentencing scheduled for November 16.

The verdict followed a 10-day trial. Jurors began deliberating Wednesday after hearing competing accounts of Hinton’s mental state and whether he deliberately steered toward Henderson, who was directing traffic near the University of Cincinnati during graduation.

Hours before the crash, Cincinnati police showed Hinton’s family and their attorneys footage of the shooting of his son, Ryan Hinton, the previous day. Officers had responded to a report of a stolen vehicle at an apartment complex. Police said Ryan was among four people in the vehicle who ran when officers approached. They said he was armed.

In video released by police, an officer gets out of his vehicle and aims his gun at Ryan, who appears to be running away. Another recording captures an officer shouting, “He’s got a gun!” Police said the officer fired at least four shots and that a gun was recovered at the scene. The Guardian reported that the footage does not make clear whether Ryan aimed a firearm at officers.

Prosecutors said Henderson saw Hinton’s car coming and moved to avoid it, but Hinton turned toward 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.

According to NBC News, Burroughs said the car accelerated from a stop to more than 43 mph in seconds and its accelerator was pressed 93.3%. “Everything that happened that day was in the driver’s hands,” she said.

Defense attorney Clyde Bennett II urged jurors to find Hinton not guilty by reason of insanity. Bennett said Hinton had struggled with mental health in the past and that his family worried about him after he saw the video. A defense expert testified that Hinton did not know right from wrong at the time of the crash, while a prosecution witness said he was grieving and angry but understood that his actions were wrong, according to NBC News affiliate WLWT.

Henderson had retired from the sheriff’s office about five months before his death and was working as a special deputy. His wife, Lori Henderson, testified about their last exchange before he left for work: “He looked at me, and he said, ‘I love you,’ and I remember adding, I said back, ‘I love you too,’” she said, crying, according to WLWT.

Bennett said after the verdict that Hinton planned to appeal. “The fight is not over,” he said, according to The Guardian.