Cincinnati officer pleads not guilty to murder over traffic stop

DuBose’s family has urged the community to remain calm, as it has in a series of demonstrations since the shooting. 

His death comes amid months of national scrutiny of police dealings with black Americans, especially killings by officers. DuBose was black; Tensing is white. Authorities so far have not focused on race in the shooting. City officials who viewed video footage from Tensing’s body camera said the traffic stop shouldn't have led to a shooting. Front license plates are required in Ohio but not in neighboring states.

Two campus police officers who responded to the shooting have been put on paid leave, university spokeswoman Michele Ralston confirmed Thursday. Phillip Kidd and David Lindenschmidt are on leave while the university police department conducts an internal investigation, she said.

Body camera footage from the two officers was released Thursday. Kidd can be heard saying he saw Tensing being dragged. And in other footage, Lindenschmidt can be heard telling another officer that Tensing "went down, got tangled in the car and drew his gun and fired."

In Lindenschmidt's video, Tensing can be seen on the ground and then getting up. But there is no indication on the video of how he ended up on the ground.

Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters, who brought the murder charge, told The Cincinnati Enquirer that Kidd and Lindenschmidt testified before the grand jury that indicted Tensing.

“This officer was wrong,” Police Chief Jeffrey Blackwell said Wednesday, adding that officers “have to be held accountable” when they're in the wrong.

Deters scoffed at Tensing’s claim that he was dragged by DuBose’s car, saying the officer “purposely killed him.” Using words such as “asinine” and “senseless,” Deters, a veteran prosecutor known for tough stands on urban crime, called it “a chicken-crap” traffic stop.

“It was so unnecessary,” he said. He added that Tensing “should never have been a police officer.”

Tensing, who was jailed overnight Wednesday, was fired soon after the indictment was announced. He had been with the University of Cincinnati for more than a year after starting police work in 2011 in a Cincinnati suburb. He earned a UC degree in criminal justice.

Tensing’s attorney, Stewart Mathews, said that he was shocked that his client was indicted for murder and that Tensing did not intend to kill DuBose. Tensing, who could face up to life in prison if convicted, said he thought he was going to be dragged under the car and “feared for his life,” Mathews said.

Mathews said a video from the body camera of a police officer who arrived right after the shooting shows Tensing lying in the street after he got free of the car, but that video hasn't been released by authorities.

“With the political climate in this country, with white police officers shooting black individuals, I think they need somebody to make an example of,” Mathews said.

Authorities said Tensing stopped the car and a struggle ensued after DuBose failed to provide a driver’s license and refused to get out of the car.

“I didn’t even do nothing,” DuBose can be heard telling Tensing in his body cam video.

Tensing fired once, striking DuBose in the head.

Aubrey DuBose, Samuel DuBose’s brother, called the shooting “senseless” and “unprovoked.” He said the family is upset but wants any reaction to the case to be nonviolent and done in a way that honors his brother’s style.

“Sam was peaceful,” he said. “He lived peaceful. And in his death, we want to remain peaceful.”

The Associated Press