DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Everything Else... University cop indicted for murder in shooting of motorist Samuel DuBose

(CNN)University of Cincinnati Police Officer Ray Tensing was indicted Wednesday on a murder charge in the shooting death of Samuel DuBose.

If convicted, Tensing could go to prison for life, Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters said in a news conference. Deters played body camera footage of the traffic stop shooting that appeared to contradict Tensing's version of what happened.

"I've been doing this for over 30 years. This is the most asinine act I've ever seen a police officer make -- totally unwarranted," said Deters. "It's an absolute tragedy in the year 2015 that anyone would behave in this manner. It was senseless."

The prosecutor, who said he was shocked when he first saw the video, was adamant DuBose, who is black, had not acted aggressively toward Tensing, who is white.

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

A reporter asked Deters whether he thought Tensing tried to mislead investigators looking into the incident.

"Yes," he said. "I think he was making an excuse for a purposeful killing" of DuBose, who was unarmed.

Tensing fatally shot DuBose, 43, during a July 19 traffic stop over an alleged missing license tag. The officer has said he was forced to fire his weapon after almost being run over.

Tensing, 25, surrendered to authorities shortly after news of the indictment broke, and he is expected to be arraigned on Thursday. He has been fired from his job.

Tensing's attorney told reporters that he believes the officer feared for his life and was dragged by DuBose's car.

"The guy jams the keys in the ignition," Stew Mathews told CNN.

"Turns the car on, jams it in the drive and mashes the accelerator. He wasn't slowly pulling away. (Tensing) feared for his life. He thought he was going to be sucked under the car that was pulling away from him. He thought he was going to get sucked under and killed."

That account was contradicted by Deters, the prosecutor, who said that Tensing was not dragged.

"This just does not happen in the United States. People don't get shot for a traffic stop unless they are violent towards the police officer, and he (DuBose) wasn't," Deters said. "He was simply slowly rolling away. That's all he did."

DuBose's death is the latest in a string of controversial killings of people by police that include Tamir Rice in Cleveland, Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and Walter Scott in North Charleston, South Carolina.

The people killed in each case have been black.

DuBose's mother told reporters that she is grateful "everything was uncovered" in her son's shooting.

"I want everybody to just lift up their heads in prayer, and thank God because this one did not go unsolved and hidden," said Audrey DuBose. "We're going to continue to fight together with God."

Terina Allen, DuBose's sister, said she believed all along the body camera video would vindicate her brother.

"My brother is one year younger than me, and I've known him his whole life. And I've known him to never ever to run from a police officer. His record, as bad as anyone wants to make it, proves he has no problem being arrested," she said.

Mark O'Mara, an attorney for the family, said he does not believe there would have been an indictment if there hadn't been video of the shooting.

"We've now made a huge first step because -- in a situation where sometimes people believe that officers are not held accountable for their actions -- in this case, one is being held accountable. So Cincinnati is showing the rest of us how to do this right," O'Mara said.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/29/us/ohio-sam-dubose-tensing-indictment/

Disgusting and heartbreaking. All around horrible tactics and decision making by this officer. A friend of mine with the CPD said this is a common problem they face. A lot of campus cops wish they were city cops, and as a result end up acting like John Wayne. How depraved do you have to be to do something like this? Kudos to Cincinnati Police and the Hamilton County prosecutor for their swift and decisive action.

Looks like murder to me. The "officer" had no reason to draw his gun and fire on a guy that MIGHT have been trying to drive away from a lowly campus cop. You were afraid of being run over from the side of the car? Please. Take one step backwards you jackass.

Agreed.

Seems like a "power" thing.

He is facing life in prison.

somebody on this board a while back said to stroke their ego though.

May I ask why the only articles you guys post are articles that slam police officers or religious groups?

Why don't you ever post articles about gang violence?

Why not post articles about hate crimes committed by minorities?

I think that many of you are as guilty of bias and hate as the side you are fighting.

The guy who was killed by Tony Stewart might agree with the cop.

If you're referring to me, I never once in my life said "stroke a cops ego". If you AREN'T referring to me, specify who you are referring to.

I HAVE said "don't break the law". I HAVE said don't run from the cops. But, swish, I haven't said those things in this case, have I?

you realize how many threads eventually evolve into talking about those topics?

we talk about all that at least once a week.

sigh.....Arch that wasn't a shot.

i didn't say you, i said somebody, as i can't remember who exactly said it. jeez man....

He actually fell backwards after discharging his weapon. That tells me all I need to know about his abilities. His performance reports indicate an overemphasis traffic stops and a lack of community involvement. While talking with my buddy on this after work he said that's a huge problem in Cincinnati. Said he learned early in his career that his job was easier and he was better at it when he knew some of the people of the community and they knew him. He said Cleveland used to make it's officers live in the city limits to foster that sort of thing.

i wish cops lived in the community they patrolled.

Of course they do, because people who are just as hateful as some of you guys have to bring that crap up.

My point is that fighting hate w/hate is not productive. I don't care what color, sex, creed, etc you are.......if you are biased against a particular group of people....you are part of the problem rather than part of the solution.

Stop being critical of things? Problems will only go away if you only think about the good things!

Man, this kind of news is getting old. Too bad it's never going to stop unless all people take to the streets.

if you close your eyes and pretend the bad stuff isn't there, then it isn't there!!

Funny how no one cares until the city is on fire.

The only way to really fix things is by pretending they never happened.

Right, because gang violence and hate crimes by minorities are good things.

I just wonder how many lives were taken by tainted officers before this body cam.

I wish Zimmerman, I know he wasn't a cop, had a body cam on during the Trayvon Martin ordeal.

Robbing is also bad, since we're covering obvious topics.

I think him not actually being a police officer for the city hurt him a lot more than any video could.

IMO the cop was wrong, wrong, wrong. However somebody would be complaining if this guy would have taken off after he started his car and pulled his door closed shut and during the police chase he plowed into another car killing a family.

Exactly.

I wonder, if the cop was black and the motorist was white in this instance, would people still be making this out as a racial thing? What's the honest answer?

What I'm curious about is why a campus cop was pulling someone over not on campus?

I just want to share some of my views as a White guy in America. When I finally came to realize that many of the people on these boards are African American, it came as quite a surprise to me. There is little difference in us when everyone is Brown background with orange type.

I remember the first thread I posted in having to do with Race, I said that, to me, there is no Race problem in my world. I am surrounded by all different Races and we all get along fine. Since then, from being on these boards and looking into what many of you have said on Race issues I have come to realize I was wrong. The reason we get along in my world is due to economics more than anything. In my world, we are all equal due to the fact we all have the same income level. We all have property we wish to protect, our kids go to good schools, we do not have run-ins with the Police.

Now that you have made me wiser, I can't help but feeling sorrow for what the Black community is facing in this world and especially with the Police. Terrifying stuff! I now realize why Blacks take off running when the PoPo shows up. I see why you fight being detained at the scene or drive off with the Cop hanging on the car, you folks don't know if you will disappear, be beaten like a dog, or get killed! I would bolt too, even if it doesn't help my situation! The thoughts of my children being caught up in that world is terrifying.

So what I am saying is when it comes to Race, I am still a work in progress but these boards and my looking into what has been said, has taught this old White dog some new tricks. It has given me a new prospective on some of the problems.

I have no solutions to offer except to say that when you are 13 percent of the population and are outnumbered by 87 to 13, violence can not be the answer. It is not in your favor. I think MLK realized this and his peaceful protests got a lot of things changed.

So I say that when a Black person is being confronted by the Police, gather around like you have been doing. Don't interfere or escalate the situation but gather around and be a Witness to these events! Imagine being detained and afraid and seeing a crowd of "Watchers" gathering around as witnesses for justice. You are not alone. Gather around and film for evidence!
Gather around and be the eyes and ears of the community and let the world see that we are watching, for evil does not do well in the light!

May God bless us all in this struggle.

or worse...he could have driven away and launched a nuclear bomb aimed for North Korea. North Korea responds by launching a bomb back at us except it goes all squirly on them and accidentally lands in China....right where they make everything. And then the next thing you know, I can't go buy a new TV.

When I was still at Case (this would have been 2002 or 2003ish), one day a guy got pulled over in front of the student center next to Severance Hall. I hadn't even noticed until I heard one cop yell to another "chase him!" The driver had bolted form his car, ran across Euclid and towards the series of University Hospitals buildings.

He passed me by a breadth of about 3 steps, and as he approached I was conflicted of whether or not I should involve myself and tackle the guy. Immediately my mind went to "of course he's done bad stuff or he wouldn't be running from the cops... and he's doing it in my neighborhood/home." While he was running, there was a woman who was yelling from near the car "Go 'head! Yeah, run!" cheering him on as he fled the police.

I decided not to intervene and was unsure if I had made the right decision. At the time there was legitimately no doubt in my mind that his capture and detainment was the right thing. My hesitation stemmed mainly from 1) the thought that there might be retribution against me for intervening and 2) my involving myself somehow made it stickier for the cops.

I haven't thought about that for a couple years, but the way my brain reflects on that situation now has completely changed since the last time. Something about 40's post triggered that memory for me. Now I feel like I'd be more likely to casually run interference that assist.

"Well let's examine the case where that happened and we'll discuss it."

I asked if it would be considered a racial thing if THIS instance had the skin colors reversed, with all of the other facts remaining the same. An answer can't be produced for that question?

"Are you guys really defending a guy shooting another guy at a traffic stop for expired tags because of a hypothetical?"

The guy had expired tags, didn't have a driver's license, couldn't provide registration for the car, was acting suspicious, was suspected of being drunk, and put the car into gear to speed off while the cop was leaning into the car. Let's not pretend the driver was an innocent bystander as a cop decided to flip out. Was shooting the guy the right decision? Maybe not, I'm not about to say I would or wouldn't have done the same as the cop in that situation and with that small of a time frame to make a decision. Does the fact that the cop was white and the driver was black make it a racial issue? No.

Thank you for sharing this.

It's very rare that a person allows himself to have a change of heart/mind. It's even more rare to find that person openly share his change of heart/mind with others.

Posts such as these give me some measure of hope.

In these conversations, I've tried to be as factual and candid as I can, because anything less would short-change the importance of the message. I've never been one to start such a conversation, but I've always been willing to share my views and observations. It's heartening to find that honest, rational talk can actually have an effect. Makes all the worth it.

I hope your words, added to others' will help to change perceptions that have long been held by those who would not hear me.

I'm actually quite touched to read this today. It's made a difference for me.

Many if not most do, so...

Me personally, I can't afford to live in the city I work. Besides, even if I could I'd still live in the nice rural county over.

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For the Purple response... here's your Hero for the Resistance 40...

http://abc11.com/news/police-man-dropped-fell-on-infant-during-chase/855797/

SOUTHERN PINES, N.C. (WTVD) --
Police have charged a man with a long list of crimes after a foot chase in which he allegedly first dropped and then fell on a 6-week-old infant.

The incident began around 9:45 p.m. Tuesday in the 16-hundred block of Richards Street when police got a report of a disturbance and that an infant had been taken from a home.

When officers arrived, a woman reported that 22-year-old Deontea Zequan Ray had hit her and left with the baby. Ray is the baby's father.

Officers later spotted Ray in a car on Murray Hill Road, but he got out and ran. Police said it appears he either dropped or threw the infant over a 7-foot fence before climbing over it.


He then climbed another 6-foot fence while carrying the child and then fell on top of it.

Police said they couldn't use a Taser because Ray was carrying the baby.

Officers continued to chase Ray and finally captured him behind a Waffle House restaurant in the 15-hundred block of U.S. 1.

"There were opportunities for our officers to deploy tasers but because of the close proximity between the officers and the suspect with the baby being present, that absolutely could not take place," said Robert Temme, Chief of the Southern Pines Police Department.

The baby was found to be bloody and unresponsive after the ordeal. The infant was flown to another hospital for advanced medical treatment after initially being taken to Moore County Regional Hospital.

Ray allegedly tried to escape while being taken to the Southern Pines Police Department for processing and again while in a detention facility at the police department. Police said he continued to be violent and combative all the way to the Moore County Detention Facility.

He's charged with assault on a female, resisting a public officer (two counts), second-degree trespassing and felony child abuse causing severe bodily injury.
***THIS IS THE BEST PART!!***
Ray's mother and the baby's mother, although unwilling to go on camera at the advice of their attorney, defended Ray, saying he only ran from police because he was threatened with a gun.

"I can stand here and there's no room for political correctness here. I can tell you that that is absolutely incorrect and an out lie. We've conducted an internal investigation that is now taking place. The police officers did not point a gun at the suspect causing him to run, the police officers did not tase the suspect, in the best interest of the baby," Temme said. "I'm not quite sure where the family is getting that information, but I'd be remiss as Chief of Police here to (not) tell you that."

The family's attorney also advised against sharing photos of the infant with the media. The photos show the child with several scratches across his forehead that look to be the result of brushes with limbs.

Temme praised his officers for rescuing the baby which he said is expected to make a full recovery.

"I fully anticipate presenting recognition awards to the officers who were involved in this case. Our community should be extremely proud of the Southern Pines Police Department today," he said.

But I guess according to you he was just trying to keep his baby from beaten 'like a dog' by the police right??
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As for the green part, heck ya, ABSOLUTELY film! I can't wait to get a body cam, people will finally start to understand how many a-holes we actually deal with.

But until the 'community' starts showing as much interest filming the people who are actually murdering and 'beating like a dog' poor black people in poor black communities, you know.. the black GANGS... I won't buy into this 'social justice crusade

Sorry Dawg, I'm not trying to pee in your Cheerios, I really ain't. Your being open minded and being aware of how you as an individual can do better is certainly something to be applauded. I think we can all do well to follow that example. But the highlighted parts.. sorry man... it just sounds like pandering to me (and I'm not talking fuzzy cute black and white Chinese bears... lol)

If everything besides skin color was the same then this wouldn't have happened. He wasn't leaning on the vehicle, he was opening the car door illegally. The Hamilton County Prosecutor said the cop was in the wrong completely.

Not immediately, no.


None of those are a reason to shoot somebody even if they are trying to get away.

A lot of that depends on jurisdictional issues.

In most states (I BELIEVE all?) a law enforcement officer is certified by the State be it Trooper, Deputy, City cop, Campus Cop, and in my state private police company.

The agency that employs them is what geographically defines where you can actually make a formal arrest i.e. I can't make an arrest 2 hours away at the beach. When it comes to gov't law enforcement agencies, there is a little room for agencies to put in place temporary or longer term "mutual aid" agreements. For example a small college town might have 70,000 people show up for Halloween. They can bring in officers from other places to help with crowd control and enforcement, and they would have full powers of arrest while they were there.

A couple years ago we made an agreement with our local state college to expand their jurisdiction by a few blocks in some areas.. these being the fraternity rows. This actually relieved a lot of the drunken college BS we had to deal with.

So possibly this may have been the case? Or simply this guy is a Sh$%bag that should never have been employed to begin with.


I haven't had a chance to watch the video yet, but from what I'm hearing from other LEOs generally, is that this is a proper charge.

In the end they may not add up to being a reason to shoot somebody, but those aren't things that are completely irrelevant either when trying to gauge a person's intentions.

surprised somebody like you thinks it's the right charge.

It's very nice of you not to use NC State by name.. damn drunks.

And I remember when I went to Maryland, I don't know what the official radius off campus was but the campus cops could nab you if you were off campus.

I get that.. but I think (and you would know better) that you have to have really strong evidence that somebody poses a serious risk to others before you shoot them for trying to run from a traffic stop.

I don't see you posting articles and links that state otherwise. Message boards are like phones. Whenever you get someone that states "Aww man, I haven't heard from you forever. Why haven't you called?" Why do I have to be the one that calls? Phones can not only receive calls, but you can make them too! The same applies here.