Cincinnati Braces For Footage Release In Campus Cop Killing Of Sam Dubose
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An Ohio prosecutor is refusing to release body camera video from the fatal police shooting of an unarmed black man during a traffic stop — but top officials are suggesting that the video disputes the campus police officer’s claims of self-defense.
Officer Ray Tensing, of the University of Cincinnati police department, shot and killed 43-year-old Sam Dubose during a routine traffic stop July 19 near campus.
Tensing stopped Dubose about 6:30 p.m. because he did not have a license plate on the front of his car, in apparent violation of Ohio law, about a half-mile from campus in Cincinnati’s historic Mount Auburn neighborhood.
The officer claims Dubose would not show his driver’s license and instead produced a bottle of alcohol and refused to get out of his vehicle.
Tensing told 911 dispatchers that he fired one shot, fatally striking Dubose in the head, because he was “almost run over” during the traffic stop, but the officer said in the incident report that he was “dragged” by the vehicle.
Multiple media outlets have sued Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters to force the release of body cam video of the incident recorded by Tensing — but the prosecutor flatly stated that he would not do so without a court order until he has presented the case to a grand jury, which could happen this week.
“Unless I’m ordered to by the Ohio Supreme Court, and I doubt I will be, they’re not going to get it,” Deters said.
But Cincinnati’s police chief said he had seen the video, and he said “the video is not good.”
“It’s not a good situation, I think that’s clear, and it will become evident once that video is shown,” said Chief Jeffrey Blackwell, of Cincinnati police. “We’re just trying to do our best to be prepared for whatever might come out of it.”
The city manager said he had not seen the video, but he told WLWT-TV that the contents had been described to him.
“It was not a good situation,” said City Manager Harry Black. “Someone has died that didn’t necessarily have to die, and I will leave it at that.”
The University of Cincinnati has suspended off-campus police stops and will hire an independent external reviewer to examine the campus police department’s policies, procedures and practices.
Dubose’s family has hired attorney Mark O’Mara, who defended George Zimmerman in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin.
“The family wants two things,” O’Mara said. “First, they want dignity for themselves and for Sam and his death, and they want transparency. They want to know what happened to what happened to him — first the ‘what’ and then the ‘why.'”
The pastor who will conduct funeral services Tuesday said Dubose’s family hoped to avoid the unrest that followed the fatal police shooting of an unarmed 19-year-old black man in 2001.
“To quote the family, ‘We don’t want another Timothy Thomas situation,'” said Pastor Ennis Tait, of the Church of the Living ? . “They’ve said that and that’s their heart. They don’t want the city to be turned upside down and that issue to be attached to their brother’s life.”
The pastor, as city officials did, pointed out the reforms imposed on Cincinnati police by the U.S. Department of Justice following the riots 14 years ago.
“One of the major goals is that we don’t repeat 2001,” said Tait. “This incident has that potential, and our goal is to make sure it doesn’t reach that level.”
The prosecutor has stopped speaking with most local media, citing their lawsuits against him, but he told WLW-AM host Bill Cunningham that he has prosecuted police officers before.
“I’m not talking about this particular case, but if there’s a bad cop, the cops want him removed, OK?” Deters said. “They would give everybody a bad name. Nobody’s protecting anybody in this case.”
He blasted state Sen. Cecil Thomas, a former Cincinnati police officer and city councilman, for describing a “groundswell of anger” among community members.
“I think those comments are reckless,” Deters said. “People need to let the system work and let the chips fall where they may.”
Comments
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why would you have to brace for something?
sounds like there could be a question of guilt somewhere -
? is beyond sad. They have no ones to blame except themselves when the ? hits the fan.
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It would be in the department's best interest to rid themselves of the bad apples if that is the case. Then again, maybe the whole department is doing dirt and trying to cover their tracks.
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My dude look like Eric B from 87! But naw that's ? up
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2stepz_ahead wrote: »why would you have to brace for something?
sounds like there could be a question of guilt somewhere
Because everyone that saw the video is saying that that man absolutely did not have to die. When the video releases they gotta brace for the backlash. The cop lied and someone died. I hope they burn that ? to the ground. -
Departments could avoid the publicity and the ? by holding cops accountable... But that's crazy
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unspoken_respect wrote: »It would be in the department's best interest to rid themselves of the bad apples if that is the case. Then again, maybe the whole department is doing dirt and trying to cover their tracks.
That's the thing. You've been condition to think 'get rid of them'.....NAH, ? that PROSECUTE their ? . When they get rid of them, the leave with a severance pay and the right to still become a peace officer somewhere else. Quit letting the ? slide and take an aggressive stance. I know there is a code of blue, but if it means protecting them by any means, then by any means is what they'll get when the people rise. -
This site acting flakey, they roll out some updates or some ? .
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hopefully people riot & teach these pigs a lesson, theirs repercussions for assassinating peeps for no reason at all, someone needs to tell these pigs, overseers & uncle toms, thats it 2015, not 1715, slavery is over, there bare late on this ? , it ain't even funny, no joke bizness
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Now now now, ya ? be reasonable n sensible n logical n thoughtful n blah blah ? up, ? down, ? out
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http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2015/07/28/tensing-attorney-officer-depressed-upset/30796677/Tensing attorney: officer depressed, upset
The University of Cincinnati police officer who shot and killed an unarmed black man during a traffic stop July 19 is depressed and didn’t go to work that day expecting anything out of the ordinary, said his attorney Stuart Mathews.
Officer Ray Tensing retained Mathews, who has represented several officers who shot citizens while on duty.
“He is depressed,” Mathews said. “He is very upset about the whole deal. It wasn’t supposed happen.”
Mathews has seen video of shooting “many times,” unlike the public which continues to clamor to see exactly what happened. Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters has refused to release the video before the grand jury has seen it.
“Of course it’s not good because somebody died,” Mathews said. “Whether Officer Tensing did anything wrong is what the grand jury will weigh in on, likely (Wednesday).”
Tensing stopped Samuel Dubose, 43, at Rice and Valencia streets in Mount Auburn for having a missing front license plate. Many questions remain unanswered. The police incident report said Tensing was “dragged,” but there was no mention of the dragging in the police dispatch call.
Any officer in Tensing’s situation would retain an attorney, Mathews said.
“I don’t have any idea what will happen,” Mathews said. “That is up to the grand jury. Given the political climate of the situation I would not be astounded if an indictment is returned. I am hopeful it will not happen.”
Tensing is on paid administrative leave.
“He was a police officer who went to work that day to do his job,” Mathews said. “He did not go to work that day with intent to be involved with something like this.”
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? that cac
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http://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/colleges/uc-news/ray-tensing-sam-dubose-attorney-for-uc-police-officer-talks-exclusively-to-wcpo-about-shootingAttorney for UC police officer says he expects indictment
CINCINNATI – The attorney for the University of Cincinnati police officer who shot and killed a black motorist says he expects the grand jury to indict him.
"I wouldn't be surprised if there is an indictment, I wouldn't be surprised if there isn't an indictment, but I think it's more likely there will be an indictment," attorney Stew Mathews told WCPO on Tuesday.
Mathews said Officer Ray Tensing is "upset and depressed" about shooting 43-year-old Sam DuBose at a traffic stop and revealed some details about the body cam video.
"He told me what happened. We went over the tape together," Mathews said, referring to the fatal encounter in Mount Auburn on July 19.
Mathews gave only a limited description of what he saw on the tape, saying the motorist, Sam DuBose, didn't like being told to step out of the vehicle by Tensing. The video shows DuBose start to pull away and Tensing being thrown to the ground, Mathews said.
Up to that point, Tensing's actions were similar to his recent traffic stops, which WCPO aired Monday, Mathews said. Responding to a public records request, UC police provided WCPO with tapes from seven June stops by Tensing. All involved encounters with black motorists.
WCPO showed the tapes to retired Cincinnati Police Sgt. Mike Gardner, who trained officers at the Cincinnati Police Academy, and Gardner did not find fault with Tensing's actions in those cases.
In addition, there is body cam video from another UC officer that shows "something" of the DuBose confrontation, Mathews said.
"These guys are running. It's jumpy. If you slow it down, you can see what's going on," Mathews said.
Mathews would not discuss anything else in the Tensing video, saying he's waiting for Prosecutor Joe Deters to release it.
Tensing is sorry about the shooting, his attorney said.
"He's not doing well. He feels terrible about it. He didn't become a police officer to go out and shoot anyone," Mathews said.
Mathews represented other officers in three previous police shootings. None ever faced charges.
Mathews said the Ohio Fraternal Order of Police contacted him Sunday and asked him to represent Tensing.
According to the police incident report, Tensing said he stopped DuBose, who was unarmed, because his car did not have a front license plate. DuBose started to pull away from the stop and dragged Tensing with his car, the report says. Tensing said he feared he would be run over and fired one shot, hitting DuBose in the head.
DuBose's family and supporters dispute the police account and have demanded to see Tensing's body cam video. WCPO and other media outlets have sued Prosecutor Joe Deters to release the video. But Deters has refused, saying the video could taint the ongoing investigation.
Deters said he would release the video after the grand jury sees it and decides whether or not to indict Tensing. That should happen by the end of the week, Deters said.
DuBose was buried Tuesday.
After the funeral, DuBose's sister repeated the family's call to see the body cam video.
"I'm so upset about them not letting us see the video," Terina DuBose Allen said. "My brother wasn't violent. He never resisted arrest. I have to assume the cop killed my brother. If they don't want me to believe that, then show us the video."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfGZkwrhZEk -
The pig that murdered Sam DuBose.. He has that "You damn.. right I hate all black people" look to him... -
Oh yea, he hates ? you can see it on his face.
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Those ugly cold blue eyes.....damn i'm glad I got my nice brown eyes
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He has no soul looking at that picture
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So we have yet another officer lying on an official police report
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How about stop terrorizing black folks so you don't have to "brace" for anything
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stringer bell wrote: »http://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/colleges/uc-news/ray-tensing-sam-dubose-attorney-for-uc-police-officer-talks-exclusively-to-wcpo-about-shootingAttorney for UC police officer says he expects indictment
CINCINNATI – The attorney for the University of Cincinnati police officer who shot and killed a black motorist says he expects the grand jury to indict him.
"I wouldn't be surprised if there is an indictment, I wouldn't be surprised if there isn't an indictment, but I think it's more likely there will be an indictment," attorney Stew Mathews told WCPO on Tuesday.
Mathews said Officer Ray Tensing is "upset and depressed" about shooting 43-year-old Sam DuBose at a traffic stop and revealed some details about the body cam video.
"He told me what happened. We went over the tape together," Mathews said, referring to the fatal encounter in Mount Auburn on July 19.
Mathews gave only a limited description of what he saw on the tape, saying the motorist, Sam DuBose, didn't like being told to step out of the vehicle by Tensing. The video shows DuBose start to pull away and Tensing being thrown to the ground, Mathews said.
Up to that point, Tensing's actions were similar to his recent traffic stops, which WCPO aired Monday, Mathews said. Responding to a public records request, UC police provided WCPO with tapes from seven June stops by Tensing. All involved encounters with black motorists.
WCPO showed the tapes to retired Cincinnati Police Sgt. Mike Gardner, who trained officers at the Cincinnati Police Academy, and Gardner did not find fault with Tensing's actions in those cases.
In addition, there is body cam video from another UC officer that shows "something" of the DuBose confrontation, Mathews said.
"These guys are running. It's jumpy. If you slow it down, you can see what's going on," Mathews said.
Mathews would not discuss anything else in the Tensing video, saying he's waiting for Prosecutor Joe Deters to release it.
Tensing is sorry about the shooting, his attorney said.
"He's not doing well. He feels terrible about it. He didn't become a police officer to go out and shoot anyone," Mathews said.
Mathews represented other officers in three previous police shootings. None ever faced charges.
Mathews said the Ohio Fraternal Order of Police contacted him Sunday and asked him to represent Tensing.
According to the police incident report, Tensing said he stopped DuBose, who was unarmed, because his car did not have a front license plate. DuBose started to pull away from the stop and dragged Tensing with his car, the report says. Tensing said he feared he would be run over and fired one shot, hitting DuBose in the head.
DuBose's family and supporters dispute the police account and have demanded to see Tensing's body cam video. WCPO and other media outlets have sued Prosecutor Joe Deters to release the video. But Deters has refused, saying the video could taint the ongoing investigation.
Deters said he would release the video after the grand jury sees it and decides whether or not to indict Tensing. That should happen by the end of the week, Deters said.
DuBose was buried Tuesday.
After the funeral, DuBose's sister repeated the family's call to see the body cam video.
"I'm so upset about them not letting us see the video," Terina DuBose Allen said. "My brother wasn't violent. He never resisted arrest. I have to assume the cop killed my brother. If they don't want me to believe that, then show us the video."https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfGZkwrhZEk
lol this is blatant propaganda smh -
The ? is on about 7-8 right now I feel something in the air
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You know it's bad when ? rather get sued than release the tape. ? cops need to stop shooting people and this ? won't happen! Them university cops be on that ? too cause I think people don't respect them because they are college cops. He can't hold that tape forever. It's got to drop soon. I just hate that ? assume right away that ? gonna tear up the city. They just told them to ? it up, out here trying to hold video on purpose. You can't do that ? !
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https://youtu.be/xfpr3w_IJuY
why is the dude not in uniform got his elbow on the guys neck against the gate? -
http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2015/07/28/tensing-attorney-officer-depressed-upset/30796677/UC officer's attorney expects indictment in shooting
The lawyer for the University of Cincinnati police officer who shot and killed a motorist during a traffic stop almost two weeks ago expects his client to be indicted by a grand jury.
Stuart Mathews said "the political climate" in Cincinnati makes it likely Officer Ray Tensing will face criminal charges when the grand jury completes its work sometime this week.
"It wasn’t supposed to happen,” said Mathews, who has seen Tensing's body camera video, which recorded the shooting. "Given the political climate of the situation, I would not be astounded if an indictment is returned. I am hopeful it will not happen.”
Mathews described part of what he saw on the video: The attorney said Samuel DuBose pulled away and at one point Tensing is thrown to the ground.
"Tensing thought he was going to die," Mathews said. "He thought he was going to get run over."
Cincinnati Police Chief Jeffrey Blackwell, who attended DuBose's funeral, said on talk radio Tuesday that Tensing’s body camera video clearly shows what happened and that he expects the video will go national and result in charges against the officer.
On WDBZ radio, Blackwell said pulling over cars with missing front license plates only inflames the community, especially when it is not in the officer’s jurisdiction.
The video has not been made public. Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters said the video is part of a criminal investigation, and releasing it now could taint the grand jury. It won't be shown to the public until the grand jury makes a decision, which he said is likely this week, possibly as early as Wednesday.
The Enquirer and other news organizations have sued for the video's release. But some city officials have said they have been briefed on its contents and are concerned about what they've learned.
Mathews spoke about the case for the first time Tuesday.
The attorney said his client is upset and depressed about the shooting. "He's a police officer who went to work that day to do his job," Mathews said. "He did not go to work that day with intent to be involved with something like this.”
Mathews spoke on the same day DuBose's family celebrated the victim's life at his funeral. Several relatives said they want justice for DuBose, but they also want the community to remain calm no matter what the grand jury decides or what the body camera video shows when it is released following that decision.
"Sam wasn't violent," said Terina Allen, DuBose's sister. "It would completely harm his memory if people were to take that route."
She and DuBose's mother, Audrey DuBose, said the family wants to know what happened and believes the video of the July 19 traffic stop should be released immediately.
"I would like answers and I am not receiving any," Audrey DuBose said. "I haven't been told anything and I think that is terrible."
The family's attorney, Mark O'Mara, said releasing the video would show investigators respect the community and are working in transparent fashion. Instead, he said, "they are hiding behind the antiquated suggestion that we have to protect the evidence."
"The family deserves dignity," O'Mara said. "The family will get dignity and respect when they get answers." O'Mara was the lead defense attorney for George Zimmerman, the Florida man who was acquitted two years ago of the 2012 killing of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.
Ozie Davis, who leads the nonprofit Avondale Comprehensive Development Corp., said Deters needs to release the video. "Every day he doesn't release it, the charge in the community goes up," Davis said. "He needs to let the video go."
He said he's concerned about the reaction in the community if the officer faces no charges in DuBose's death. "If they don't charge him, it's going to be bad," he said.
Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley said he's confident police are ready for whatever happens this week when the grand jury completes its work.
Cranley said city officials are preparing in two ways: They are making sure police have the resources they need to respond to any protests or unrest, and they are reaching out to community leaders to prevent trouble from getting started.
"I think we're prepared," Cranley said Tuesday, after attending DuBose's visitation before the funeral services. "Everyone has the right to peacefully protest, but we will not tolerate lawlessness."
He said he's optimistic the response to the video and grand jury decision will be civil. He said the city has changed since 2001, when the streets erupted in days of violence after a Cincinnati police officer shot and killed an African-American man, Timothy Thomas, in Over-the-Rhine.
He said the relationship between police and the community they serve is far better today than in 2001. City Hall has open lines of communication with activists, ministers and others whose opinions carry weight in the city's neighborhoods, he said.
"These are personal friends of mine," Cranley said. "We're staying in constant communication."
He said he's also scheduled a private meeting with DuBose's family members. "I want to express my condolences," Cranley said.
The mayor said another significant difference between this shooting and the one in 2001 is that this one didn't involve a Cincinnati police officer. That shooting led to sweeping police reforms and a "collaborative agreement" between community leaders and the city about the future of policing in Cincinnati.
"This is not the Cincinnati Police Department. It's UC," Cranley said. "They will have to face the kind of questions we faced back then."
State Senator Cecil Thomas, who been calling for peace during a recent increase in shootings on city streets, said he has "serious concerns" about the atmosphere in Cincinnati and across the nation.
"We're seeing too many incidents like this," Thomas said. "There needs to be discussion. We're having it now, but it needs to be more focused and directed at solutions." -
http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2015/07/29/prosecutor-discuss-dubose-shooting-today/30822025/Prosecutor to discuss DuBose shooting at 1 p.m.
Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters will hold a Wednesday afternoon news conference regarding the fatal shooting of Samuel DuBose by a University of Cincinnati police officer, Deters' office announced Wednesday morning.
The news conference will begin at 1 p.m. at the prosecutor's office, 230 E. Ninth Street, Downtown.
DuBose was shot and killed by UC officer Ray Tensing during a July 19 traffic stop in Mount Auburn.
Cincinnati city and police officials will have a news briefing at 2 p.m., following Deters' announcement.
Stuart Mathews, Tensing's lawyer, told The Enquirer on Tuesday he expects his client to be indicted by a grand jury.
"The political climate" in Cincinnati makes it likely Tensing will face criminal charges when the grand jury completes its work sometime this week, he said.
"It wasn’t supposed to happen,” said Mathews, who has seen Tensing's body camera video, which recorded the shooting. "Given the political climate of the situation, I would not be astounded if an indictment is returned. I am hopeful it will not happen.”
Cincinnati's prepared for community response
Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley said city officials are preparing for the video's release, as well as the conclusion of a grand jury investigation.
City officials have reached out to community leaders to encourage a peaceful response, and are also making sure police have the resources they need to respond to any protests or unrest, Cranley said.
"I think we're prepared," Cranley said Tuesday. "Everyone has the right to peacefully protest, but we will not tolerate lawlessness."
