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University of Cincinnati Cop Charged With Murder

Hamilton County Sheriff's Office
Tensing, if convicted, could face life in prison.

A Hamilton County grand jury has indicted a University of Cincinnati police officer Ray Tensing for murder in the shooting death of Samuel Dubose in a July 19 traffic stop.

In a press conference announcing the indictment, the shooting was, Hamilton County Prosecutor Joseph T. Deters said, the most “asinine” and “senseless” act he has ever seen a police officer commit.

“I’ve been doing this for over 30 years,’’ Deters said in a press conference early Wednesday afternoon. “It was the purposeful killing of a person. That’s what makes it murder.”

Tensing, if convicted, could face life in prison.

Tensing is alleged to have shot the 43-year-old Dubose in the head after an altercation in a traffic stop off campus about 7 p.m. on Sunday, July 19. Dubose was stopped because his car did not have a front license plate, as is required in Ohio.

It was the purposeful killing of a person. That’s what makes it murder.

There were reports that the 25-year-old Tensing shot Dubose while being dragged by Dubose’s car. Deters said the body cam video – which the prosecutor released to the public Wednesday afternoon – showed that the officer was not dragged by the car.

What it did show, Deters said, is that Dubose did not respond to a simple command and started to roll away from the officer.

“He was dealing with somebody who did not have a front license plate,’’ Deters said. “If he starts rolling away, just let him go.”

The traffic stop, Deters said, “was chicken crap.”

There is a warrant out for Tensing’s arrest. The UC police officer is on paid administrative leave. WKRC TV was reporting that Tensing turned himself in at the Hamilton County Justice Center while Deters' press conference was going on.

Deters said he believes that the University of Cincinnati should become "the Cincinnati police department's sixth district." Since the shooting, UC officials have confined campus police officers' jurisdiction to the campus itself. Previously, UC officers patrolled an area within a mile of the campuses. This incident apparently happened outside that mile radius.

Before the grand jury indictment was announced, UC officials made the decision Wednesday morning to shut down the Uptown and Medical campuses at 11 a.m., including all offices and all classes.

A statement from the university’s police department said the decision was made “with an abundance of caution in anticipation of today’s announcement of the Hamilton County grand jury’s decision regarding the July 19 officer-involved shooting of Samuel Dubose and the release of the officer’s body camera video. We realize this is a challenging time for our university community.”

The funeral and visitation for Dubose was held Tuesday.

A post on Black Lives Matter Facebook page said that a demonstration would be held Wednesday night in front of the Hamilton County Courthouse downtown a few miles from the UC campus.

Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley met with Dubose’s family at his city hall office Wednesday morning, according to press secretary Kevin Osborne.

“The mayor offered his condolences and they had a discussion,’’ Osborne told WVXU.