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Numerous arrests were made, and an officer was put on administrative leave following violent confrontations during a protest against ICE on an interstate bridge.
Protesters opposing the immigration detention of former hospital chaplain Ayman Soliman blocked the Roebling Bridge, which connects traffic between Ohio and Kentucky, on Thursday.
About 100 individuals crossed from the Ohio side, but altercations ensued when they encountered nearly 50 officers from Covington, Kentucky, as reported by Cincinnati.com.
Shocking footage showed one officer punching a protester several times as police wrestled him to the ground.
Covington Police Chief Brian Valenti claimed the protester, Brandon Hill, had tried to disarm an officer carrying a pepper ball gun.
However, Hill, who was left covered in scratches and bruises and with his arm in a sling, insisted he was just trying not to get shot.
‘It’s all very traumatic, and I’m still trying to recover from this, honestly,’ Hill told WCPO. ‘If anything like that happened, it’s because a random gun was pointed in my face.’
Covington police placed the officer who arrested Hill on administrative duty with pay while the investigation is ongoing.
Shocking footage showed one officer punching a protester several times as police wrestled him to the ground
Protester Brandon Hill was left covered in scratches and bruises and with his arm in a sling after a police officer hit him
Dozens were arrested, and one cop was placed on administrative duty after violent clashes broke out during an anti-ICE protest on an interstate bridge
Body camera footage from the unidentified officer showed him chasing Hill as he was running along the sidewalk before the cop grabbed him near the ledge of the bridge.
Hill can be heard on other officers’ body cams yelling ‘ow’ and ‘stop’ as he got hit in the head.
In the officer’s use-of-force report, he wrote: ‘[Hill] continued to physically resist, actively concealing his hands… fearing that [he] might be attempting to access a weapon, and that the surrounding crowd opposed a threat to my safety, I delivered additional closed fist strikes.’
Another video from the protest showed people wearing neon-colored vests pushing against a black SUV on the bridge.
Police arrested 15 people during the protest, including two journalists, after police said they had refused to comply with orders to disperse.
Covington police said in a statement that officers who initially attempted to talk with the protest’s organizer were threatened and met with hostility.
‘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 police said.
Among the charges filed against those arrested were rioting, failing to disperse, obstructing emergency responders, criminal mischief and disorderly conduct.
Hill can be heard on other officers’ body cams yelling ‘ow’ and ‘stop’ as he got hit in the head
Hill, who was left covered in scratches and bruises and with his arm in a sling, insisted he was just trying not to get shot
Reporter Madeline Fening and photo intern Lucas Griffith were charged with felony rioting and several other charges, said Ashley Moor, the editor in chief of CityBeat.
A judge on Friday set a $2,500 bond for each of those arrested.
The arrests happened during a protest in support of Ayman Soliman, 51, an Egyptian immigrant who worked as a chaplain at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.
He was detained last week after he showed up for a routine check-in with ICE officials at their office near Cincinnati.
According to his lawyers, he was granted asylum in 2018 based on past persecution for his work as a journalist in Egypt during the Arab Spring uprising. His lawyers say he was jailed and tortured for reporting on the intense political conflict.
