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The shooting of Samuel DuBose occurred during a traffic stop for a missing front license plate on July 19, 2015, in Cincinnati, Ohio. DuBose, a black man, was fatally shot by Ray Tensing, a white University of Cincinnati police officer. Tensing shot DuBose when DuBose started his car and allegedly began to drive off. Tensing stated that he was being dragged when his arm became stuck in the car. Prosecutors said that footage from Tensing's body-mounted video camera showed that he was not dragged, and, on July 29, a grand jury indicted him on a murder charge. He was then fired from the police department.

Backgrounds

Samuel Vincent DuBose (c. 1972 – July 19, 2015), a 43-year-old black man, was a rapper, music producer, entrepreneur, and motorcycle enthusiast, according to his funeral program. He attended high school in Cincinnati and was the father of 13 children. He had been arrested over 60 times for a variety of traffic, drug, and violent offenses, and had served time in a state prison on a 2005 marijuana trafficking charge. During the incident, DuBose had marijuana in his car, and about $2,600 cash.

Raymond Tensing (born November 13, 1989), a white police officer who was 25 years old at the time of the shooting, had four years of law enforcement experience. Prior to working for the University of Cincinnati Police Department (UCPD), he was an officer with the department of Greenhills, Ohio. In 2012 Tensing graduated cum laude with a degree in criminal justice from University of Cincinnati Clermont College and had a clean performance record.

Shooting

External videos
Bodycam 1 – Tensing
Bodycam 2 – Kidd
Bodycam 3 – Lindenschmidt

At 6:30 p.m., on Rice Street, Tensing stopped DuBose for failure to display a front license tag. The incident was recorded on Tensing's body-mounted video camera, which he activated before the traffic stop.

In the bodycam video, Tensing repeatedly requests a driver's license and DuBose replies that he has a driver's license, eventually stating that he does not have it with him. Tensing starts to open the driver's door and tells DuBose to remove his seat belt. DuBose pulls the door closed and starts the engine. Within the next few seconds, Tensing reaches into the car with his left hand and yells, "Stop! Stop!", draws his pistol, and fires once. Tensing falls away from the vehicle and it moves forward as he and two other officers run after it. It comes to a stop after about 100 yards (91 m). After the officers reach the car, the video shows DuBose inside with an apparent gunshot wound to his head. The county coroner's preliminary autopsy results, released on July 31, confirmed that as the cause of death.

In bodycam footage, Tensing repeatedly tells other officers that he was dragged when his arm became stuck in the car. In the police report that he filed after the incident, he stated that he was dragged, forcing him to fire his weapon. On July 29, authorities released Tensing's bodycam video, which, according to prosecutors, does not show Tensing being dragged. Additional videos were released on July 30, from bodycams worn by two other officers at the scene of the shooting.

Police accounts

UCPD officers Phillip Kidd and David Lindenschmidt arrived at the scene just after the gunshot, and bodycam footage shows Tensing getting up off the pavement. In his bodycam video, Kidd is heard supporting Tensing's statement that he was dragged by the car. According to County Prosecutor Joe Deters, neither officer stated in his official statement to Cincinnati police that he saw Tensing being dragged by the car. Kidd and Lindenschmidt were not indicted by the grand jury. "These officers have been truthful and honest about what happened and no charges are warranted," Deters said. Kidd and Lindenschmidt were placed on administrative leave during a university investigation.

Eric Weibel, a UCPD officer who did not witness the shooting, stated in a report that Tensing's uniform looked like he had been dragged.

Legal proceedings

On July 29, Hamilton County District Attorney Joe Deters stated in a press conference that the shooting was "asinine" and "senseless". He said that DuBose was not acting violent or aggressive. With "an abundance of caution in anticipation" of Deters' announcement, the University of Cincinnati closed its Uptown and Medical campuses at 11:00 a.m.; the campuses resumed normal operations the next day.

On July 29, Tensing was indicted on murder charges. The murder charge carries a penalty of life without the possibility of parole for 15 years. As a result of the indictment, he was fired from the UCPD. On July 30, at his arraignment, he pleaded not guilty to the charges of murder and voluntary manslaughter, and was released on $1 million bail later that day. His next court date is set for August 19.

Stew Mathews, Tensing's attorney, said the shot that killed DuBose was fired in self-defense, and that Tensing was being dragged by DuBose's car. Mathews substantiated his claim with body camera video from David Lindenschmidt, another officer who was at the scene.

According to the UCPD use of force procedure, campus officers "should not discharge a firearm at or from a moving vehicle except as the ultimate measure of self-defense or defense of another when the suspect is using deadly force".

Reactions

The body camera recording of Tensing shooting DuBose has garnered considerable attention. Some members of the media have compared the footage to a first-person-shooter video game and have described it as so "disturbing" that Cincinnati police prepared for large protests and riots before the footage's release.

As of July 30, at least four demonstrations have been held around the country in response to DuBose's death.

On July 31, the Fraternal Order of Police-Ohio Labor Council, a union that represents UCPD employees, filed a grievance asking that Tensing be reinstated to his position on the police force, asserting that he was terminated "without just cause".

See also

• List of killings by law enforcement officers in the United States

References

1. Welsh-Huggins, Andrew (July 29, 2015). "Details on university police officer, shooting victim". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
2. "Investigation finished in Cincinnati police shooting". CNN. July 29, 2015. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
3. "Cincinnati Prosecutor Probing Shooting of Motorist by University Police Officer". Fox News. July 22, 2015. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
4. "Prosecutor: UC Officer 'Purposefully Killed' DuBose". Cincinnati.com. Cincinnati, Ohio. July 30, 2015. Retrieved August 1, 2015.
5. ^ Richinick, Michele (July 29, 2015). "Grand Jury Indicts Police Officer Ray Tensing for Shooting Death of Samuel Dubose". Newsweek. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
6. "Fired Ohio cop used stun gun on man". Yahoo! News. July 29, 2015. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
7. "UC officer accused of killing motorist has clean performance record". WCPO. Cincinnati, Ohio. July 29, 2015. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
8. Coolridge, Sharon; Grasha, Kevin; Horn, Dan (July 30, 2015). "Prosecutor: UC officer 'purposefully killed' DuBose". Cincinnati.com (Enquirer). Retrieved August 1, 2015.
9. ^ Pérez-Peña, Richard (July 29, 2015). "University of Cincinnati Officer Indicted in Fatal Shooting of Driver". The New York Times. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
10. "Body camera video released in Sam DuBose shooting". WCPO. Cincinnati, Ohio. July 29, 2015. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
11. "No Charges For 2 Cops At Scene Of Sam DuBose's Killing". The Huffington Post. July 31, 2015. Retrieved August 1, 2015.
12. Bittenbender, Steve (July 30, 2015). "Ohio officer charged with murder pleads not guilty, released on bond". Reuters. Retrieved August 1, 2015.
13. Carrero, Jacquellena (July 29, 2015). "Family of Samuel DuBose, Killed by University Cop, Calls for Peace After Cincinnati Indictment". NBC News. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
14. Carrero, Jacquellena (July 30, 2015). "Samuel DuBose Shooting: Second Body Cam Video Shows Police Response". NBC News. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
15. "No Charges vs. 2 Officers at Scene of Traffic Stop Shooting". The New York Times. Associated Press. July 31, 2015. Retrieved August 1, 2015.
16. "Officers Involved In Samuel DuBose Shooting Were Sued In Earlier Death Of Unarmed Black Man". The Huffington Post. Retrieved July 31, 2015. {{cite web}}: |archive-url= is malformed: save command (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
17. ^ Ford, Dana (July 29, 2015). "University cop indicted in traffic stop shooting". CNN. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
18. Ralston, Michele; Reilly, M.B. (July 30, 2015). "Information on July 19 Officer-Involved Shooting". University of Cincinnati. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
19. "$1 million bond set for officer charged with murder". Cincinnati.com. July 30, 2015. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
20. "Cop in Sam DuBose shooting death pleads not guilty". CNN. July 30, 2015. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
21. Carrero, Jacquellena (July 29, 2015). "University of Cincinnati Police Officer Indicted for Murder in Death of Samuel Dubose". NBC News. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
22. "Watch The Body Cam Video That Led To An Officer Being Charged With The Murder Of Sam DuBose". The Huffington Post. July 29, 2015. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
23. Congedo, Jackie (July 30, 2015). "Former UC Officer Ray Tensing's attorney plans to use self-defense claim". WLWT. Cincinnati, Ohio. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
24. "Samuel DuBose video appears to show two officers reinforced false account of police killing". July 29, 2015. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
25. "Investigation finished in Cincinnati police shooting". CNN. July 29, 2015. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
26. Thomas, Dexter (July 30, 2015). "Footage of police shooting of Sam DuBose in Cincinnati evokes disturbing video game". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
27. King, Shaun (July 28, 2015). "The video of police killing of Sam Dubose is apparently so bad, Cincinnati is preparing for riots". The Daily Kos. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
28. "At least 983 Black Lives Matter demonstrations have been held in the last 376 days". Elephrame. July 30, 2015. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
29. Saker, Anne (July 31, 2015). "Tensing, through union, demands his UC job back". Cincinnati.com. Retrieved August 1, 2015.
30. McCormack, Simon (July 31, 2015). "Police Union Files Grievance To Get Ray Tensing His Job Back". Huffington Post. Retrieved August 1, 2015.

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• Deaths by firearm in Ohio
• Law enforcement in Ohio
• People shot dead by law enforcement officers in the United States
• Race and crime in the United States
• 21st century in Cincinnati, Ohio
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• African-American history in Cincinnati, Ohio
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