A routine bike stop on a busy downtown Cincinnati sidewalk this past Saturday afternoon ended with an 18-year-old facing gun charges, felony warrants from another state, and a Taser deployment after he tried to run from officers. Police say Destin Howard was riding a red bicycle on a crowded downtown sidewalk when officers pulled him over, only to discover a loaded, stolen handgun tucked in his waistband.
According to FOX19, Cincinnati police stopped Howard for riding his bike on the sidewalk, a common enough encounter downtown, but the stop quickly turned up something much bigger. Officers found that Howard had felony warrants out of Dearborn County, Indiana, on charges of assault on an officer and resisting arrest, the outlet reports. As police moved to arrest him, Howard tried to run, and officers deployed Tasers to stop his escape.
Why the Sidewalk Ride Was Illegal in the First Place
The stop itself was grounded in a local rule that many downtown visitors may not realize exists. Cincinnati prohibits anyone over the age of 15 from riding a bicycle on a city sidewalk, according to a 2017 report from WVXU.
Once the stolen handgun surfaced, the legal stakes for Howard rose sharply.
Out-of-State Warrants Reflect a Regional Policing Reality
Howard's warrants were issued in Dearborn County, Indiana. It remains unclear when or whether Howard will be extradited to Indiana to face the pending assault and resisting-arrest charges there.
Officers deployed Tasers as Howard attempted to escape.
A Department Under Pressure on Multiple Fronts
The arrest comes as Cincinnati police face staffing pressure. Hennie, a 26-year veteran of the force who was serving as assistant chief before his appointment, has since had to navigate a department stretched thin: he told City Council in March 2026 that CPD had just 959 sworn officers against a budgeted capacity of 1,059, a gap driven by retirements outpacing new recruit classes.
A Policy Commitment and an Unresolved Question
In July 2026, Hennie re-committed the department to the city's 2002 Collaborative Agreement on bias-free policing, WVXU reported. Whether the handgun recovered from Howard has any connection to prior regional crimes through ATF ballistic testing has not been disclosed.
