'So shocking': 3 arrests made in Cincinnati brawl, renewed calls for police visibility
CINCINNATI (WKRC) - There are now three arrests to report four days after a brawl in downtown Cincinnati attracted national attention.
The two people arrested on Tuesday were identified as 34-year-old Montianez Merriweather and 24-year-old Dekyra Vernon. They are both charged with felonious assault and aggravated riot.
Cincinnati is in the spotlight, and it's not in a good way. Comments from Vice President JD Vance on down conveyed shock and disgust at the incident.
In an update, jail records show that a third individual, identified as 39-year-old Jermaine Matthews, was booked at 1:06 a.m. on Wednesday. He is charged with aggravated riot and assault.
Now, all eyes are on the Hamilton County Jail. Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge said she has five sealed warrants to arrest specific people, and the jail is where they will come to get processed. This, of course, is all related to that brawl early Saturday morning outside the nightclub Love on Fourth.
It was a fight-turned-melee, where a man was repeatedly punched and kicked, and his female companion was punched in the face and knocked unconscious.
Ohio gubernatorial candidate and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy posted on his Facebook account that he spoke to the woman who was knocked out. He said her name is Holly, and that she’s "a single working mom who went to a friend’s birthday party that night."
She told Ramaswamy that "not a single local or state official had yet reached out" to her by the time of the post and that “she appreciates the kind words and prayers from patriots across the country and hopes that the publicity around her story ensures that local and state leaders clean up our failing cities.”
Cincinnati City Councilman Jeff Cramerding floated a proposal on Tuesday.
“With the events of this past weekend, I mean, it was so shocking for the entire city. Since then, we've been hearing about the need for police visibility, and that's really what citizens and businesses are asking for," said Cramerding.
His motion compels the city to "immediately utilize $2 million from the General Fund Contingency Account to be used to expedite and expand the lateral recruit class for police overtime to provide for increased visibility, including walking and bike patrols, lighting and security cameras, and other measures necessary to improve public safety and deter violent crime in the Central Business District and other crime hot spots.”
“Having a police presence out there is very important,” Cramerding said. “I think it is a big deterrent to crime. So yes, it's more bodies on the street with the goal of reducing that crime.”
“I think some people will look at this and say, 'You're just throwing money at the problem,'" said Local 12.
“Yeah,” Cramerding said. “So, I think that this addresses the short-term problem. There are obviously bigger long-term issues that we have to address. We have to get every aspect of government working together, that being the police, prosecutors, city hall, and judges, to really fix this in the long term.”
Cramerding's motion will go before the Finance Committee on Monday. If it passes, it'll go before the full council on Wednesday. Cramerding said if it passes, it will then be up to the chief to determine how and where to use it. As for the people involved in that brawl, Local 12 is keeping an eye on the jail to see when, or if, those suspects are brought in.
