No charges brought against two officers present at traffic stop killing

A grand jury has decided that no charges are warranted against two University of Cincinnati police officers who responded to the traffic stop in which another officer fatally shot a driver.

Friday's announcement by a prosecutor in the case comes a day after former Officer Ray Tensing, 25, pleaded not guilty to murder and voluntary manslaughter in the July 19 shooting of Samuel DuBose.

Tensing's attorney has said Tensing thought he was going to be dragged under DuBose's car. The two other University of Cincinnati officers, Phillip Kidd and David Lindenschmidt, were placed on administrative leave on Thursday. They testified in front of a Hamilton County grand jury, which decided not to press charges.

The Hamilton County prosecutor says the two officers arrived as Tensing reached into the car. He says their official statements about what happened matched what was shown on Tensing's body camera, and neither of the two officers said in official interviews that they saw Tensing dragged.

From the body camera's recording after the shooting transpired, at least one of the officers erroneously told fellow officers that Officer Tensing had been dragged by DuBose’s car, but that discrepancy was not in a sworn statement that the two officers subsequently gave.

“I fully agree with the decision of the Hamilton County Grand Jury,” said Hamilton County Prosecutor Joseph T. Deters. “These officers were totally cooperative in the investigation and consistent in their statements. There was some confusion over the way the initial incident report was drafted but that was not a sworn statement by the officers and merely a short summary of information.”

Tensing was released from jail on Thursday evening after posting 10 percent of bail, which the court accepted, of a mark that had been set at $1 million. 

Al Jazeera and wire services