Video shows large crowds swarm downtown on Opening Day
By Richard Chiles, Fletcher Keel
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CINCINNATI (WLWT) — It’s been a long night for Cincinnati police after large, unruly crowds were caught on camera.
Several fights were reported and multiple arrests were made all in the hours after Opening Day celebrations.
At one point, much of The Banks was blocked off, as well as access to the Roebling Bridge. Those areas have since reopened, but there are still a lot of questions.
Video obtained by WLWT shows crowds swarming officers at the Banks Thursday evening. People can be seen pushing, shoving and falling over each other.
WLWT reporters saw at least two arrests while in the area Thursday night.
Other videos posted online, that WLWT does not have permission to share, depict fights breaking out as well from Fountain Square to Washington Park and Over-the-Rhine.
Cincinnati police were working crowd control and dealing with fights into the early hours of the morning.
See the video at the top of this story to listen to officer’s radio traffic.
“I don’t know if we have any more cars but we need some crowd control over here, before we have other fights breaking out,” one officer said over the radio.
“Are there any drone operators right now out working?” an officer asked a dispatcher.
“We’ve got a few,” they responded.
“Copy Send me one over here at Findlay and Elm, start videotaping all of this for us.”
In a social media post, Cincinnati’s police union—FOP Queen City Lodge No. 69—asked for prayers for the officers “trying to manage an unruly crowd of criminals that are terrorizing OTR, Downtown and the Banks.”
The union’s post continues, saying, “this is a direct result of a soft on crime City Hall and Hamilton County Judges. Welcome to lawless Cincinnati.”
WLWT spoke to a sergeant dealing with the crowds after bars closed. We’re told that while officers were busy, crowds like this are pretty normal after a big event like Opening Day.
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