13 arrested after tense confrontation between protesters, police on Roebling Bridge
Police said officers responded to the bridge between Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky at approximately 8:15 p.m. for a protest that "obstructed traffic and created safety concerns for both demonstrators and the public."
The protest was held in support of Imam Ayman Soliman, an Egyptian immigrant and former Cincinnati Children's chaplain who U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained July 9.
More: Former Cincinnati Children's chaplain detained by ICE
A large group of protesters crossed the Roebling Bridge shortly after 8 p.m., starting from the Cincinnati side and heading toward Covington, according to web camera footage of the bridge. A few minutes later, nine Covington police squad cars drove onto the bridge and confronted the crowd.
Videos circulating on social media show officers subduing multiple people to the ground during the protest. One video shows an officer striking a man on the head with his fists and another shows multiple officers taking down a woman while shocking her with a Taser.
One person who marched on the bridge, Gracie Shanklin, said she thought the organizers had a permit to march on the roadway. Within seconds of police arriving and ordering the crowd to disperse onto the sidewalks, she realized that was not the case.
Shanklin, 23, of Norwood, said she saw Covington officers deploy Tasers on people who were making their way toward the sidewalk.
"We were peacefully marching," Shanklin said. "The police started the violence."
The protest was organized by Ignite Peace, Ohio Poor People's Campaign and SURJ Cincinnati (Showing Up for Racial Justice), according to a press release. It began by the "Sing the Queen City" sign at The Banks before the crowd moved across the Roebling Bridge around 8 p.m.
Covington police said in the release officers initially attempted to connect with the protest's organizer but were "met with open hostility and threatening behavior."
"While the department supports the public's right to peaceful assembly and expression, threatening officers and blocking critical infrastructure, such as a major bridge, presents a danger to all involved," the release said.
After warnings were issued to the group to disperse, several people were taken into custody. Charges include rioting, unlawful assembly, failure to disperse, obstructing a highway, obstructing emergency responders, criminal mischief, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.
A small group of about a dozen protestors later assembled outside the Covington Police Department and Kenton County jail. The groups were mostly quiet, at times chanting for police to drop the charges.
Arraignments were scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Friday, July 18 at the Kenton County Justice Center.
Among those arrested was CityBeat reporter Madeline Fening, who posted about the protest on her Instagram page Thursday evening. It's unclear what lead to her arrest, but she was charged with failure to disperse, obstructing a highway, obstructing emergency response violations, disorderly conduct and unlawful assembly.
The Enquirer has reached out to the publisher and editor-in-chief of CityBeat for more information.
'We respect everyone's right to protest, but when demonstrations jeopardize public safety and violate the law, our officers must take appropriate action,' Police Chief Brian Valenti said in the release.
Dozens of officers from agencies across Kenton and Campbell counties responded.
By 8:30 p.m., there were 15 squad cars and the crowd had largely dispersed onto the Ohio side of the bridge. Officers cleared the bridge around 8:45 p.m. The bridge was temporarily closed during the incident but has since been reopened.
Cincinnati police said they were not involved in the incident, a department spokesman told The Enquirer. Most of the bridge is within Kentucky state lines.
This story was updated with new information about the protest's organizers.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Covington police arrest 13 after protest on Roebling Suspension Bridge
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