3 key moments from Vivek Ramaswamy's Cincinnati town hall on crime
They talked about the fallout from the viral street fight July 26 and the rising concerns of crime in Cincinnati.
Ramaswamy and former Cincinnati City Councilman Christopher Smitherman hosted the town hall in Jim & Jack's, a longtime West Side establishment in the city's Riverside neighborhood about 5 miles west from where a viral street brawl took place more than a week earlier. Across the street, Democrats and activists protested Ramaswamy's appearance.
Ramaswamy took the stage in the middle of Jim & Jack's dance floor where two seats and a table were set out. Some other Republicans warmed up the crowd, including mayoral candidate and Vice President JD Vance's half-brother, Cory Bowman, and U.S. Rep. David Taylor. Pro Football Hall of Famer and former Bengal Anthony Munoz also spoke.
"We're here because less than two weeks ago ... there was a group of people going out in their city who were violently attacked by a violent mob in the city of Cincinnati," Ramaswamy said.
Here are three highlights:
Sarah Heringer's emotional speech
Ramaswamy invited Sarah Heringer to speak at the town hall. Her husband, Patrick, 46, was stabbed to death in their Over-the-Rhine home during a June burglary. She gave an emotional speech that recounted the night her husband died and blamed city leaders for his death.
"Imagine this," Heringer said. "You're asleep. You wake up to a man standing over your bed with a weapon. How did he get there? Because someone made a decision, because someone signed a paper, because someone did nothing. That's what leadership looks like in Cincinnati: negligence, silence and cowardice."
Mordecia Black, 38, is accused of fatally stabbing Patrick Heringer on June 4. In January, Black completed a nine and a half year prison sentence and cut off his ankle monitor in February, officials said.
Sarah Heringer accused the city of failing her husband.
"We don't need more statements, we need action," she said. "If the goal is public safety, prove it."
Green Township woman recounts losing 2 sons to shootings in the city
Felisha Zimmerman fought back tears asking Ramaswamy for help in curbing crime. She said she lost two sons to gun violence. Her 17-year-old son, Kristopher Teetor, was shot dead in 2021 at a South Fairmount gas station. His older brother, Brian "Bubba" Teetor, had been shot and killed four years earlier.
She said accomplices to Kristopher Teetor's shooting received short sentences.
"The system is broken from the bottom to the top," Zimmerman, 49, of Green Township said. "And I'm here tonight in search of solutions so no one else has to get up here and say what I've just said."
In an interview with The Enquirer before the event, Zimmerman said she supports Ramaswamy's gubernatorial bid. She said she hopes the town hall shines a light on the crime issue in Cincinnati.
"I bet that I'm not the only woman in the city with two murdered children," Zimmerman said. "I'd put money on it. What kind of world is that?"
Race becomes an issue
The first question from the audience at the town hall sparked a heated debate on race relations. Ramaswamy called on a Black man for the first question. The man recounted the 400 years of "violence that was perpetrated on our people." He then said someone in the street fight had "cast the first stone" and that people had a right to defend themselves.
This drew a strong backlash and groans from the audience.
Smitherman responded to the man by saying Black people in the country have held themselves to a high standard but "what happened 10 or 12 days ago was not our best moment."
"Those men operating from the WWE and jumping off on them and slamming their bodies into them was not our best moment," Smitherman said to raucous applause from the crowd. "It wasn't our best moment as Americans. It wasn't our best moment as people. We must own that."
This story was updated to add a gallery.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Highlights from Ramaswamy's town hall responding to Cincinnati brawl
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