‘Unacceptable’: Cincinnati Police Chief Says Only One Person Called 911 During Brutal Mob Attack

Just one person contacted emergency responders as dozens of onlookers witnessed a mob of mostly black men pummel a man and a woman in downtown Cincinnati last week, according to law enforcement.

Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge proclaimed her disappointment on Monday after roughly 100 people who stood by and either filmed, jeered, or did nothing to aid the outnumbered victims during the brawl. Video of the street brawl went viral online over the weekend. It is unclear what race or ethnicity the two victims are from the footage.

“For us to have 100 or so people down there, involved in, and/or watching this event, recording with their cell phones, and for us to get only one phone call of this incident is unacceptable in this city,” Theetge said during a press conference. “One person did the right thing and called 911.”

The police chief said that five people have been charged in connection with the brawl, with more arrests expected.

“Anyone who put their hands on another individual during this incident in an attempt to cause harm will face consequences. I don’t care which side of the incident or the fight they were on. If they placed their hands on somebody in an attempt to cause harm, that is unacceptable,” said Theetge.

Investigators are looking into the role alcohol might have played in the incident, and whether some of the people involved had been overserved at bars or restaurants, according to the police chief.

“It is clear to us that alcohol played a part, a significant part, in this incident,” she said.

The brawl took place late Friday night or early Saturday morning, according to Theetge. Videos of the incident began to rocket around the internet on Sunday. One of the most shared shows a man and woman mobbed by what appears to be mostly black attackers.

The man is thrown to the ground and pounded for nearly a minute before he is picked up, bloodied and unsteady, only to fall back to the ground shortly after. After he is picked up again and helped away, a woman appears to try to shield him from further harm when a black man punches her in the face, knocking her unconscious.

Republican Vivek Ramaswamy, who is running to be the next governor of Ohio, posted on X Monday that he had spoken with the female victim, who he said is named Holly.

“It’s unconscionable that there were no police present in that area of Cincinnati on a Friday night, or even an ambulance to take her to the hospital. Hard-working Americans shouldn’t have to worry for their safety when they have a good time in our cities. Holly said not a single local or state official had yet reached out as of earlier this afternoon, other than one police detective,” Ramaswamy wrote.

“Leftists like to lecture about ‘systemic injustice’ while thugs turn our turn cities into war zones. I’m done with their excuses. As governor, I’ll make sure they’re behind bars, not running wild,” he added.