A Cincinnati man was left with a broken nose, concussion and facial contusions after an alleged mob attack in downtown Cincinnati late on July 4th.
The aftermath of the beating, captured on video and uploaded to Facebook, shows onlookers taunting the injured man, identified as Christopher McKnight, with one woman heard shouting, “Yea, n***a, you just got knocked the f*** out!”
Video here (language and content warning):
Cincinnati Fountain Square ‘Race Riot’ Facebook Video Showing Bloodied White Man Gains 10,000 Facebook Shares [Video] http://t.co/qbpUkqM8p8
— INQUISITR (@theinquisitr) July 7, 2015
Beating may have led to Fountain Square uproar Saturday night: http://t.co/40EgVoUKoC @WCPO pic.twitter.com/6ZRylhVC0d
— Meghan Wesley (@MeghanWesley) July 6, 2015
The Cincinnati Police Department initially labeled the incident an “anti-white” crime, but has since backed off that assertion:
https://twitter.com/FOX19LisaHutson/status/618122910918537216
More from the Cincinnati Enquirer:
Police backed away Monday from an officer’s incident report that described the Saturday night assault on a man near Fountain Square as an “anti-white” crime.
In a police incident report filed at 3 a.m. Sunday, the reporting officer stated the assault that left Christopher McKnight, 27, bloodied and unconscious involved hate or bias. The officer’s typed explanation was that the violence was “anti-white.”
At a Monday afternoon news conference with other police and city leaders, Capt. Mike Neville said that description was incorrect.
Although Neville did say the police are still investigating if race played a part in the attack:
In an interview later in the afternoon, Neville said categorizing the assault as a hate crime was the opinion of reporting officer Alicia Essert. She drew that conclusion, Neville said, because McKnight was attacked by a group of people from the “opposite race.”
It is too early in the investigation to determine whether race motivated the assault, Neville said.
Two police officers were injured in the melee as well:
Several CPD officers were injured after a chaotic night on Fountain Square. The latest: http://t.co/Hs8p8nlXIH @WCPO pic.twitter.com/yP6yTQL8iW
— Ally Kraemer (@AllyKraemer) July 5, 2015
CBS Capt. Mike Neville: Both officers are doing well and have returned to work.
— Cincinnati Police Department (@CincyPD) July 6, 2015
Up next for Cincinnati is the MLB All-Star Game:
As Police Chief Blackwell notes, @CincinnatiPD has been planning for All-Star Game for 2 years; it will be a safe event for all
— John Cranley (@JohnCranley) July 6, 2015
Chief Blackwell: "We're the safest big city in America. Period."
— John Cranley (@JohnCranley) July 6, 2015
Oh really? The FBI has Cincinnati listed as one of the cities with the highest murder rates in America.
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