Campus officer charged with murder in Ohio wants job back

Officers Eric Weibel and Phillip Kidd were among seven University of Cincinnati police officers and other officials named in a lawsuit alleging the wrongful death of Kelly Brinson, a 45-year-old mentally ill university hospital patient. On July 19, a routine traffic stop turned deadly after police officer Ray Tensing pulled DuBose over for not having a front license plate.

University of Cincinnati police officer Ray Tensing’s body camera shows his handgun drawn at a auto that came to a stop after driver Samuel Dubose was pulled over and shot during a traffic stop in Cincinnati, in a still image from video released by the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office on Wednesday.

Officer Ray Tensing was fired shortly after his indictment Wednesday on charges of murder and voluntary manslaughter in the death of 43-year-old Samuel DuBose.

Tensing claimed that he had gotten stuck in the auto and was being dragged when he fired his weapon.

The Hamilton County prosecutor says the two officers arrived as Tensing reached into the vehicle. “When the officers were specifically asked about what they saw and heard, their statements matched Tensing’s body camera video”.

But the grand jury in Ohio did the right thing, indicting Tensing on murder and manslaughter charges, leaving his fate in the hands of a judge and jury. The fallout from the shooting has raised questions about the competence of the University of Cincinnati police force. She is the cousin of Kelly Brinson, who died after being tased and restrained by University of Cincinnati police officers in 2010. 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.

7 seconds later, he turns it off. When the scene reappears, they’re at a gas station where Officer Kidd– takes a phone call from the station. I thought I was going to get run over. Deters said he thinks it is a “good idea” for police to wear body cameras, “because nine times out of 10 it clears [officers] of wrongdoing”.

Kidd was placed on administrative leave Thursday. The DuBose was black; Tensing is white.

Meanwhile, Tensing is trying to get his job back. “I’ve been doing this for 30 years”, Deters told reporters after meeting with Dubose’s family.

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

As shown in Tensing’s bodycam video, shortly after the shooting Lindenschmidt and Kidd can be seen recounting the incident, and backing up Tensing’s false account of what happened at least three times. Footage from a video camera mounted to Tensing’s chest captured the entire encounter on tape.

U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said during a May visit that Cincinnati’s reforms could be a model for other cities dealing with the issue of community-police relations. Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley said in a subsequent news conference that there will be an independent review of the University of Cincinnati police department.