Ohio police officer posts bail & is released from jail

On Wednesday, county prosecutors announced that a grand jury had indicted Tensing on charges of murder and manslaughter in the killing of Samuel DuBose on July 19 during a traffic stop for a missing license plate.

Officers David Lindenschmidt and Phillip Kidd responded when UC police officer Ray Tensing fatally shot Samuel DuBose after a traffic stop on July 19.

Tensing was fired from his post after his indictment, and university spokeswoman Michele Ralston confirmed Thursday that officers Kidd and Lindenschmidt were placed on paid leave during the investigation.

Tensing, who could face up to life in prison if convicted, has said he thought he was going to be dragged under the vehicle and “feared for his life”, according to Mr Mathews. Their official statements about what happened matched what was shown on Tensing’s body camera, and neither officer said in official interviews that he saw Tensing being dragged, according to Deters.

A body-camera video worn by Tensing showed the officer shooting the victim in the head as he sat behind his car’s steering wheel. This is the most asinine act I’ve ever seen a police officer make – totally unwarranted. Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley said in a subsequent news conference that there will be an independent review of the University of Cincinnati police department.

“This is, without question, a murder”, said Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters.

There already have been some protesting, but city leaders said because there is video of the incident and prosecutors moved quickly to arrest and charge the officer, they hope there is no more violence in Cincinnati.

“If there was no camera at that scene, the media and everybody would have taken the word of Tensing and the other officers”, he said.

“I don’t think a university should be in the policing business”, he said.

In speaking to CNN, Tensing’s lawyer Stew Matthews seemed to indicate that his client’s not guilty plea will be due to the belief he was acting in self-defense. “I was trying to stop him”, he said in the video.

DuBose, 43, was killed during a traffic stop near the University of Cincinnati’s campus, authorities said, noting that he was stopped because his auto did not have a license plate in the front.

Kidd: “Yeah, I saw that”.

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

A few minutes into the exchange between the officer and the driver, Dubose’s appears to move, and Tensing fires the fatal shot. Deter says. Subsequent images show Tensing running after Dubose’s auto, which crashes nearby.

Kidd’s body camera captured him quickly agreeing with Tensing’s version of events.

Attorney Stewart Mathews says, “The case will be tried and decided in a court”.

DuBose’s death comes after months of national debate about police use of force against African-Americans, especially when the force resulted in death.