Killing of Samuel DuBose

Samuel DuBose Samuel Vincent DuBose (March 12, 1972 – July 19, 2015), a black 43-year-old man, was a rapper, music producer, entrepreneur, and motorcycle enthusiast. He was the founder of a motorcycle club, Ruthless Riders. He attended high school in Cincinnati and was the father of 13 children. He was deeply loved by his family, friends and many in the community. He was not affiliated with the University of Cincinnati. Raymond Tensing Raymond Tensing (born November 13, 1989), having previously been a well-regarded officer with the department of Greenhills, Ohio. He had left the Ohio State Highway Patrol's training academy after attending for just one day. According to a highway patrol spokesman, he was unable to adapt to the physical and mental requirements. University of Cincinnati Police Department The University of Cincinnati Police Department is certified by the state of Ohio and has full police authority throughout the state. They focus their patrols areas on three campuses and the areas around them. UCPD officers receive 616 hours of training at the police academy, plus 80 of rookie training, while city police officers spend 1,040 hours in training. Officers increased their traffic stops on- and off-campus, tripling the number from 2012 to 2015. Of its 72 officers, four are African American and one is Asian American. One UCPD chief resigned in 2013 amid reported low morale, and he was not replaced immediately. Two other black men had been killed by UCPD officers, both with Tasers: a mental patient in 2010 and a student in 2011. ==Shooting==

At , on Rice Street near Thill Street in the Mount Auburn district, Tensing was patrolling off-campus when he stopped DuBose for failure to display a front license plate, which was a primary offense for vehicles with Ohio license plates. The incident was recorded on Tensing's bodycam, which he activated before the traffic stop. After the officers reach the car, the video shows DuBose inside with a gunshot wound to his head. The county coroner's preliminary autopsy results, released on , confirmed that as the cause of death. In bodycam footage, Tensing repeatedly tells other officers that he was dragged when his arm became caught in the car, possibly in the steering wheel. In the police report that he filed after the incident, he stated that he was dragged, forcing him to fire his weapon. Through lawyers, he released a public statement that he was afraid that he would be run over. A day after the killing, it was reported that DuBose was driving on an indefinitely suspended driver's license, and had four bags and a jar of marijuana and about $2,600 cash in the car. Investigation and police reports UCPD officers Phillip Kidd and David Lindenschmidt arrived at the scene just after the gunshot. In his bodycam video, Kidd is heard supporting Tensing's statement that he was dragged by the car. According to County Prosecutor Joe Deters, neither officer stated in his official statement to Cincinnati police that he saw Tensing being dragged. The CPD took over the investigation soon after they were called to the scene. During the CPD investigation, Tensing did not have any officer corroborate his account of being dragged. During the trial, the officers on the scene testified that they never saw Ray Tensing being dragged at all. Officers admitted to originally taking Tensing's word for this account, but they each acknowledged that they never witnessed DuBose drag or assault Tensing. ==Aftermath==

Official reactions On , Hamilton County Prosecuting Attorney Joe Deters stated in a press conference that the shooting was "asinine" and "senseless". He said that DuBose was not acting violently or aggressively. With "an abundance of caution in anticipation" of Deters' announcement, the University of Cincinnati closed its Uptown and Medical campuses at The campuses resumed normal operations the next day. On , the Fraternal Order of PoliceOhio Labor Council, a union that represents UCPD employees, filed a grievance asking that Tensing be reinstated to his position on the police force, asserting that he was terminated "without just cause". Resolution of the grievance is postponed pending the outcome of the criminal case. In the wake of the shooting, Deters called for the disbandment of the UCPD force and its replacement with city police officers. The incident also drew attention to the presence of armed law enforcement on college campuses. There was some public and academic criticism of Deters' comments, on the basis that his rhetoric would jeopardize Tensing's right to a fair trial and that they were anti-police. The Chief of the CPD said that the memorandum of understanding, signed in 2009 by his predecessor, which allowed UCPD to patrol areas neighboring the university, should be revoked. and described as so "disturbing" that Cincinnati police prepared for large protests and riots before the footage's release. As of , at least four demonstrations have been held around the country in response to DuBose's death. A Black Lives Matter vigil and rally in support of DuBose was held in Cincinnati on , the third such event since the shooting. The victim's mother said, "As long as we stand up for the righteous, we going to be OK. I would come out here every night, I will go city to city because now I'm involved, my child was involved." Participants chanted "I am Sam DuBose." Around 300 participants subsequently walked through Over-the-Rhine to Fountain Square. Six people were arrested on charges of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest during the march. One hundred protesters joined a "United March for Justice" on , linking DuBose's killing with the deaths of Tamir Rice, John Crawford, and Samantha Ramsey. Kroll Report A report, commonly called the "Kroll Report", released in September 2015 by Kroll Inc., a risk consulting firm hired by the university, said that Tensing's bodycam video showed that he was not dragged. It also said that the car had not moved, or had barely moved, before the gunshot was fired. The Kroll report concluded that Ray Tensing was never dragged, that Ray Tensing violated several police protocols and that he unnecessarily escalated the situation. The report indicated that Sam DuBose did not follow the officer's orders. Tensing's attorney said, "I don't agree with their analysis or their conclusions." The report's recommendations include reviewing the scope of the UCPD's jurisdiction, improving relevant training and policies, clarifying reporting requirements following officer-involved shootings, providing cultural diversity training, and assessing the diversity of officers within the UCPD. On , a student group, named "Irate 8" for the eight percent of black students at University of Cincinnati campuses, presented a list of demands to the university president. The list includes taking officers Kidd and Lindenschmidt off patrol, conducting full background checks of police and other university employees, and mandating racial sensitivity training for all staff and students. President Santa Ono agreed to meet with them and discuss their demands. ==Legal proceedings==

Kidd and Lindenschmidt were not indicted by the grand jury. After the officers corrected their initial statements, Prosecutor Deters said, "These officers have been truthful and honest about what happened and no charges are warranted.". Kidd and Lindenschmidt were placed on administrative leave during a university investigation. Ten days after killing Sam DuBose with gunshot to the head, Ray Tensing was indicted on charges of murder and voluntary manslaughter on , 2015. The murder charge carries a penalty of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for 15 years. As a result of the indictment, he was fired from the UCPD. At his arraignment, he pleaded not guilty to the charges, and he was released on $1 million bond later that day. A trial began on , 2016; on , the judge declared a mistrial after the jury became deadlocked. Ten days later the prosecution announced that they intended to retry Tensing, requesting a change of venue due to the amount of publicity surrounding the case in the Cincinnati area. A judge denied the change of venue, while extending a gag order in the case. A retrial was slated to begin on May 25, 2017. The presiding judge ruled that prosecutors could not present the T-shirt Tensing was wearing at the time of the shooting to the jury. The shirt depicted a Confederate battle flag, and the judge agreed with Tensing's defense that allowing the shirt as evidence would be prejudicial. On June 23, 2017, the second trial also ended in mistrial due to a deadlocked jury. On July 18, 2017, Deters said he was dropping the case against Tensing, as two previous juries could not reach a unanimous agreement on murder and voluntary manslaughter charges. Stew Mathews, Tensing's attorney, said that Tensing was being dragged by the car, and that the officer fired in self-defense while fearing for his life. Mathews said that video from Lindenschmidt's bodycam helped substantiate that claim. However, video forensics expert and FBI instructor Grant Fredericks disagreed with these claims—testifying the video showed Tensing had never been dragged, and in fact pulled and aimed his gun at Dubose's head before the vehicle moved. Fredericks further testified he believed the vehicle's later acceleration occurred after the shooting, as a result of a "post-mortem reflex." In January 2016, following two days of mediation with civil rights attorney Al Gerhardstein, the University of Cincinnati agreed to pay US$4.85 million to the DuBose family. In addition to financial compensation, the settlement included free undergraduate education for DuBose's children, the creation of a memorial in his name, an apology from the school's president, and engagement by the family in police reform at the university. It also protected all potential defendants from any future civil litigation in DuBose's death. On March 23, 2018, the University of Cincinnati settled a grievance that the Ohio police union filed on behalf of Ray Tensing. The settlement provided Tensing with $250,000 plus costs/fees. This caused further outrage in the community. ==See also==