From the body camera’s recording after the shooting transpired, at least one of the officers erroneously told fellow officers that Officer Tensing had been dragged by DuBose’s auto, but that discrepancy was not in a sworn statement that the two officers subsequently gave.
Advertisement
DuBose’s death comes after months of national debate about police use of force against African-Americans, especially when the force resulted in death.
It has also raised concerns about the so-called “blue wall of silence” which prevents police who commit misdeeds from being caught because their colleagues will either not report them or cover for them.
Ray Tensing was indicted for murder and voluntary manslaughter charges Wednesday after prosecutor Joseph Deters said body-camera footage, which has since been released, showed Tensing not dragged by DuBose’s auto before the July 19 shooting. “This is the most asinine act I’ve ever seen a police officer make – totally unwarranted”, he said. University of Cincinnati police officer, Phillip Kidd, who corroborated faulty information Tensing provided, is now being investigated.
The revelation that officers Weibel and Kidd provided the corroboration for Tensing’s account of the incident was met with anger by Brinson’s family members, who told the Guardian on Thursday that if both officers had been disciplined correctly in 2010, the death of DuBose might have been avoided. Tensing and Dubose struggled after the latter failed to hand over a driver’s license-it had been suspended indefinitely in January-and refused to exit his vehicle.
Then, less than two minutes into the exchange, DuBose reaches for the keys and Tensing can be heard shouting “STOP!”
Tensing: “I’m gonna shut the auto off”.
“It was so unnecessary”, Deters said.
“I thought he was gonna run me over”, Tensing said to them, in an exchange captured by Lindenschmidt’s camera. “He was dealing with someone who did not have a front license plate”.
“This is in the vernacular a pretty “chicken crap” stop”.
Deters added that Dubose going limp and his foot lifting off the brake likely led to the car’s movement down the road.
A fired University of Cincinnati police officer charged with murder in the shooting of a motorist during a traffic stop once used a stun gun on another motorist he said resisted arrest and assaulted him.
“Sam would have never did to that police officer what that police officer did to Sam”, Ms Allen said.
Last year, the California State University system, while not admitting fault, agreed to pay $2.5 million to the family of a student killed during a struggle with San Bernardino campus police. CSU police officials explain their officers are trained like any other legitimate law enforcement, which means whether you’re a student or not, you’re subject to their jurisdiction. The Fraternal Order of Police in Cincinnati did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the content of the videos. “But all of our decisions are made with an eye toward protecting the public and ourselves”.
Advertisement
And there was an outburst in the courtroom Thursday when the judge slammed down the gavel ordering him held on a $1 million bail. She is the cousin of Kelly Brinson, who died after being tased and restrained by University of Cincinnati police officers in 2010.
