Two Cincinnati police officers were assaulted on Halloween night, Saturday, October 31, while trying to break up a large, disorderly crowd on Short Vine in Corryville, the strip of bars and businesses next to the University of Cincinnati. By Monday, November 2, two people had been arrested in connection with the assaults, and investigators were still working to identify others seen in video of the attack, local stations reported.
Source: FOX19 (WXIX), Cincinnati
Cincinnati Fraternal Order of Police President Ken Kober, the police union leader, estimated the crowd at around 2,000 people who had gathered for "Halloweekend" events advertised at businesses along Short Vine. Officers were attacked near a BP gas station as they moved in to break up the crowd, Kober told reporters. Some people in the crowd were seen standing on top of fuel pumps, according to video and photos posted online.
Source: WCPO 9, Cincinnati (FOP President Ken Kober briefing)
One officer needed stitches; both are recovering
Kober said video shows one officer held on the ground and kicked repeatedly before he got up and chased after the people assaulting him. That officer was taken to hospital, where he received stitches along with treatment for bruises and bumps, and has since been released. The second officer was treated at the scene. Both officers are recovering, the union said.
Officers deployed Tasers on several people while trying to regain control of the street, Kober said. In a statement after the incident, the Fraternal Order of Police said crowds on Short Vine that night also destroyed property, set fires, vandalised vehicles and started fights — allegations police say form part of the wider investigation into the night's disorder. The assaults remain allegations against those arrested until cases are heard in court; everyone arrested is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
Investigators are reviewing video from the Short Vine crowd to identify more of the people involved in the assaults. Anyone who recognises someone in the footage can contact Crime Stoppers at 513-352-3040 or reach out to the Cincinnati Police Department directly, the police union said.
A Halloween night that stretched the whole city
The Short Vine assaults were the most serious police-injury incident of a violent Halloween night across Cincinnati. Police told WLWT that officers made 44 arrests citywide that night, amid multiple separate incidents — including a fatal shooting elsewhere in the city that is being investigated separately. The crowd scenes near the university, in a district packed with students and young people drawn by advertised Halloweekend parties, are now the focus of the identification effort.
Why Short Vine draws these crowds
Short Vine is the commercial spine of Corryville, the neighbourhood immediately east of the University of Cincinnati's main campus, and its bars and restaurants market heavily to students on big weekends. Halloween — falling on a Saturday this year — is one of the largest. Local reporting describes the Halloweekend event as advertised at multiple businesses along the street, which helps explain how a crowd the union puts at roughly 2,000 built up in a few blocks before police moved in late in the evening.
What happens next
The two people arrested by Monday face court proceedings in Hamilton County, and police say more identifications from video are expected — meaning further arrests are possible. The Fraternal Order of Police has publicly pressed for everyone involved in the assaults to be identified, while the department continues to review footage. For students and families in the university district — including the international students who live around Corryville — the immediate question is whether police change how they staff the next big weekend on Short Vine. Awaaz Punjab will update this story when police release the names and charges of those arrested, or announce further arrests.