A Covington Police officer who was seen on video punching a protester during a chaotic encounter on the Roebling Bridge in July has been suspended for 30 days, following an internal affairs investigation.
Covington Police Chief Justin Wietholter told commissioners at Tuesday night’s meeting that other than officer Zachary Stayton’s actions, the investigation found officers’ response to be “consistent with established procedure.”
In addition to 30 days of unpaid suspension, Stayton will be required to take additional remedial training.
The goal of the investigation, Wietholter said, was to ensure a full and fair assessment of Covington Police officers’ response that day.
“It included a review of hundreds of hours of body worn camera and civilian footage, interviews with multiple civilian and employee witnesses, along with other available evidence and reports,” Wietholter said.
Wietholter’s statement was short, occurring at the beginning of the meeting. It was a caucus meeting, so there were not public comments, and the chief did not take questions. (Click here to learn more about the difference between legislative meetings and caucus meetings.)
Still, Wietholter emphasized the need for ongoing training.
“These incidents provide the department with a proactive opportunity to determine whether additional training is appropriate agency wide, and to that end, officers across the department will begin receiving additional training focused on de-escalation and responding to unlawful public demonstrations involving large crowds,” Wietholter said.
Wietholter concluded his statement by saying that “public safety depends on mutual respect and responsibility for both officers and the public. Our mission remains the same – to provide the best possible police service to the people of Covington, built on respect, fairness and trust.”
You can watch the chief’s full statement below.
Fifteen people were arrested on the bridge after the July encounter. The arrests took place after a protest in Cincinnati branched off from a vigil for former Cincinnati Children’s chaplain Ayman Soliman, whom ICE detained following the revocation of his asylum status. At the time, Soliman was held at the Butler County Jail in Hamilton, Ohio. He was released from custody at the end of September.
The police and protestors clashed as the protestors attempted to cross the bridge from the Ohio side. Nick Swartsell, a reporter with WVXU, was on the scene and recorded several videos that later became widely circulated among news media and on social media.
Videos show the police making arrests, deploying tasers and other weapons and arresting two journalists from Cincinnati CityBeat, Madeline Fening and Lucas Griffith. Other video footage shows Stayton repeatedly punching protestor Brandon Hill in the head while other officers hold him down. Hill later stated that “it seems like some folks used excessive force.”
LINK nky’s content sharing partner WCPO previously filed a public records request asking for all use-of-force records regarding Stayton, who joined the force in October 2021. They already had eight reports involving Stayton at the station from previous investigations into the Covington Police Department issued between December 2022 and February 2024. Four of those use-of-force incidents came between April and May 2023, but none of the reports issued during that period led to litigation against the city or department.
There was a lawsuit filed in September 2023, however, that does detail another time Stayton was accused of excessive force. According to court documents, Stayton and another officer were accused of slamming a man to the ground and arresting him outside a Covington Kroger.
The man stated he refused to give police his ID when they walked up to him outside of his vehicle in the Kroger parking lot. The man who filed the lawsuit dismissed his claim in February 2024 after settling with the city for $27,500.
Stayton was placed on administrative duty following the bridge incident, meaning he continued to work but wasn’t out on patrol.
All 15 people arrested on the bridge, most of whom were from Cincinnati, according to court records and police reports, were initially charged with felony rioting. Many of these charges were dismissed during a preliminary hearing in Kenton County District Court on July 23.
Specifically, seven protesters received deals in which they pleaded guilty to a single, lower charge in exchange for the dismissal of their other charges, including those for rioting. The court granted them time served, but did not waive their court costs.
Four protestors’ rioting charges were dismissed, but their lower charges were upheld. These included the two journalists from Cincinnati CityBeat. Both journalists elected to go trial.
Griffith’s trial occurred last month, where a jury found him guilty of failure to disperse but not guilty of disorderly conduct, obstructing an emergency responder and obstructing a highway. With court costs and other fees, Griffith owed the court a total of $219 after the trail.
The other journalist, Fening, was initially set to go to trial in October, but the court granted her a continuance. As a result, her trial has been rescheduled for Jan. 13, 2026, at 8:30 a.m.
Finally, four protestors, including Hill, had the probable cause for their rioting charges upheld and sent to a grand jury, which will decide if there is enough evidence for the cases to go to trial. That process is ongoing.
Although the police and prosecutors argued that the protestors on the bridge were overly hostile, many in the community felt the police’s response was excessive. Some community members have called for a greater emphasis on crime prevention and re-establishing trust with the public.
“I think it’s very telling and very important that Kentucky statutes refer to our officers as peace officers, not law enforcement officers,” said Covington resident Tom Hull before the Board of Commissioners on Sept. 9. “We need to see them and our city officials spending more time promoting peace and acting to prevent the occurrence of crime than they do responding to the existence of crime after the fact.”
LINK nky has requested copies of the full IA investigation. We will report more information as it becomes available.
Taylor Weiter of WCPO contributed reporting to this story.