Cincinnati police officer charged with murder of Black man

Cincinnati police officer charged with murder of Black man

The family of Samuel DuBose speaks during a July 29 press conference after it was announced the Cincinnati police officer who shot and killed DuBose will be charged with murder.

Special to the NNPA from The Washington Informer

      The white University of Cincinnati police officer who fatally shot an unarmed Black man during a traffic stop has been charged with murder, prosecutors announced recently.

Officer Ray Tensing, 25, was indicted in the July 19 shooting death of Samuel DuBose, whom he’d pulled over for not having a front license tag on his vehicle.

If convicted, Tensing could be sentenced to life in prison, Hamilton County prosecutor Joe Deters said.

“I’ve been doing this for over 30 years. This is the most asinine act I’ve ever seen a police officer make — totally un-warranted,” Deters told reporters after meeting with Du-Bose’s family. “It’s an absolute tragedy in the year 2015 that anyone would behave in this manner. It was senseless.”

Deters, who was adamant that DuBose, 43, did not act aggressively during the time he was held over by Tensing, played body-camera footage of the shooting, which appeared to contradict Tensing’s version of the events.

“People want to believe that Mr. DuBose had done some-thing violent towards the officer — he did not,” Deters said. “He did not at all. I feel so sorry for his family and what they lost, and I feel sorry for the community, too.”

Asked if he thought Tensing had tried to mislead investigators, Deters responded, “Yeah, yes, I think he was making an excuse for the purposeful killing of another person.”

In a statement issued by the university, President Santa J. Ono said the school would “take necessary steps to address any training, staffing and hiring policy issues that may be indicated by this tragic event.”