3 Pride protesters found guilty of disorderly conduct

Three protesters who tangled with police after blocking the path of the Columbus Pride Parade at a Downtown intersection last summer were convicted Monday of disorderly conduct, but two were acquitted of resisting arrest.

A Franklin County Municipal Court jury deliberated for nearly eight hours before finding Wriply Bennet, 28, Ashley N. Braxton, 27, and Kendall C. Denton, 26, guilty of disorderly conduct, a fourth- degree misdemeanor punishable by up to 30 days in jail at sentencing.

Bennet, of Clintonville, also was convicted of resisting arrest, a seconddegree misdemeanor punishable by as many as three months in jail; and failing to comply with an officer, a first- degree misdemeanor punishable by as many as six months in jail.

Braxton, of Berwick, and Denton, of Weinland Park, were found not guilty of resisting arrest, but Braxton was convicted of failing to comply with an officer.

A charge that Braxton caused physical harm to an officer by resisting was among those for which a not- guilty verdict was issued. That charge related to an officer who suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL, in a knee.

The three will be sentenced by Judge Cynthia Ebner on March 7.

A fourth protester arrested in the incident, Deandre A. Miles, 21, of Atlanta, was charged with aggravated robbery, a felony, for trying to take an officer’s gun during the struggle.

Miles has yet to be indicted, as the parties “conduct a thorough investigation before determining the most appropriate way to resolve this matter,” according to Common Pleas Court records.

Defense attorneys for the three defendants whose cases were tried in Municipal Court argued that their clients were peacefully demonstrating on June 17, and that the physical altercation was caused by an overly aggressive police response. Bicycle officers used their bikes to push protesters back and deployed pepper spray.

Jurors saw portions of eight videos of the incident, captured by cellphones and officer body cameras.

The demonstrators, who had linked arms in the street at West Broad and Front streets, later issued a statement saying they were protesting the recent acquittal of a Minnesota police officer in a fatal shooting and to raise awareness about violence against black and brown queer and transgender individuals.