A police officer who killed a man in Cincinnati during a traffic stop has been indicted for
murder, the Hamilton County prosecutor said today, noting, "This was the purposeful killing of another person."
"I'm treating him like a murderer," prosecutor Joseph Deters said during a news conference when describing the warrant out for a police officer who killed Samuel DuBose, 43, earlier this month.
Ray Tensing had been on paid administrative leave but was let go by the department, school officials said in a release Wednesday.
Footage released today from a police officer's body cam lasts about 10 minutes and shows the shooting. The full video, unedited and without the shooting blurred, can be
watched here. It also includes the aftermath of the shooting and Tensing’s conversations with other officers.
Warning, the video is graphic.
"I have been doing this for 30 years," Deters said. "This is the most asinine act I have ever seen a police officer make."
Deters said he was "shocked" when he saw the video and his heart broke for what the video would mean to the community.
"It's just bad. It's just bad what he did and it shouldn't have happened," Deters said.
Footage from university police officer Ray Tensing's body cam was released along with the result of the grand jury's investigation. If convicted, Tensing could receive life in prison, Deters said. Deters said there's no evidence race was an issue in the killing, when asked by reporters.
"This guy didn't deserve to be tased and he certainly didn't deserve to be shot in the head," Deters said of DuBose.
DuBose was killed during a traffic stop on July 19 near the University of Cincinnati's campus, authorities said, noting that DuBose was stopped because his car did not have a license plate in the front.
DuBose apparently refused to provide a driver's license, produced an open alcohol bottle and a struggle ensued, during which Tensing was knocked to the ground, UC Police Department chief Jason Goodrich said during a news conference last week. Goodrich said the officer fired one shot into DuBose's head.
Tensing's lawyer, Stewart Matthews, said that a jury would find that his client did not overreact.
.png){kind=icon}
