Jury selection begins for Ohio father charged with murdering deputy with car after son killed by police

Jury selection is underway in the murder trial of Rodney L. Hinton, the Ohio father accused of striking a deputy with his vehicle hours after viewing body camera footage of a Cincinnati police officer fatally shooting his son.

Judge Jody Luebbers has called 107 potential jurors, NBC affiliate WLWT of Cincinnati reported. Jury selection began Monday and is expected to resume Tuesday.

Hinton’s attorney, Clyde Bennett II, told the news station that he wants to make sure the seated jury can put aside their opinions and preconceived notions about the case and “follow the law given by Judge Luebbers.”

“That’s going to be difficult,” he said.

“I’m looking for 12 individuals from Hamilton County that can be fair and impartial, notwithstanding the fact that you have a very valued, loved deputy that was killed in the line of duty for no reason,” Bennett continued.

According to the news station, the jury selection process includes a 23-page questionnaire and days of questioning by attorneys. More than a dozen potential jurors have already been dismissed, WLWT reported.

Bennett did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.

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Hinton, 40, was indicted on two counts of aggravated murder, murder, and two counts of felonious assault after prosecutors said he intentionally used his vehicle to run down and kill Hamilton County special deputy Larry Henderson in May 2025.

Henderson retired from the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office about five months before his death and was working as a special deputy directing traffic near the University of Cincinnati during graduation.

Hours before the incident, Hinton had watched body camera video of his 18-year-old son, Ryan Hinton, being fatally shot by a Cincinnati officer responding to a report of a stolen vehicle at an apartment complex.

Family said Hinton was “upset” and “agitated.”

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Theresa Larkin, Ryan Hinton’s aunt, previously told NBC News that it was extremely difficult to watch the video.

“I can only imagine what he felt when he saw that video,” she said in an interview last year. “Because when I finally seen it, and I watched that video from the beginning to the end and watched my nephew drop, it was like my soul left my body. So I can only imagine how his father felt.”

Police said that Ryan Hinton was among a group of people in an allegedly stolen car. Some people in the group ran after officers approached them, authorities said. Two officers pursued Ryan Hinton, who police said was armed, and another person.

In video released by police, an officer was seen exiting his vehicle and pointing his gun at Ryan Hinton, who appeared to be running away. The officer fired at least four times, police said at a press conference last year. In another video, an officer could be heard yelling, “He’s got a gun!” Authorities said the gun was recovered at the scene.

During a chaotic bond hearing last year that ended with Hinton being escorted from the courtroom following a commotion in the gallery, police said that concerned relatives drove Hinton from the police station after he watched the video. He later returned to the station to pick up his vehicle from the parking lot, authorities said.

Police said that after leaving the parking lot, Hinton drove toward the university and appeared to stop before he allegedly “accelerated quickly” through an intersection where the deputy was standing. Police said there was no indication that Hinton tried to stop.

In December, Hinton changed his plea from not guilty to not guilty by reason of insanity. A forensic psychologist appointed by the court said during the hearing that Hinton has bipolar disorder.

Bennett said his client’s mental illness significantly affected his decision-making the day Henderson died. The plea change made him ineligible for the death penalty under Ohio law.