Kidd and Lindenschmidt were put on administrative leave this week during a university investigation.
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Ray Tensing fatally shot Samuel DuBose after the victim failed to present his driver’s license after being stopped for a missing license plate.
Ray Tensing, 25, has pleaded not guilty to murder and voluntary manslaughter charges for the July 19 death of Samuel DuBose during what started out as a routine traffic stop.
The original police report of the incident said that Tensing had been dragged by DuBose’s auto, which led to the shooting.
However, Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters said Wednesday that Tensing’s claim was a lie and that Tensing had fallen backward after shooting DuBose in the head.
Mathews has said that a video from the body camera of a police officer who arrived right after the shooting shows Tensing lying in the street after he had gotten free of the auto, but that video hasn’t been released by authorities.
Messages were left Thursday at the university police department for the two officers and at a home phone number listed for a David Lindenschmidt. There is a very brief scuffle through the window before Tensing pulls his gun and shoots Dubose who is still in his seat. Assistant prosecutor Mark Piepmeier said he’s never asked for less than $1 million for a murder case.
The former University of Cincinnati officer, who turned himself in and spent the night in jail in isolation, appeared in court in striped grey prison clothes before Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas Judge Megan Shanahan in Cincinnati.
“Yeah, I saw that”, Kidd replied. “It was senseless”, said Deters while announcing the charges at a news conference this week.
Despite criminal charges against Tensing – and public vitriol towards him – the officer is trying to get his job back with the help of his union.
Body camera footage from the two officers was released Thursday. Tensing quickly fired his weapon at DuBose. “People don’t get shot for a traffic stop unless they are violent towards the police officer, and [Dubose] wasn’t”.
“I thought he was gonna run me over”, Tensing says.
Kidd’s body camera captured him quickly agreeing with Tensing’s version of events. But the video shows that after Tensing tries to open the auto door, Dubose turns the ignition and a brief struggle ensues in which Tensing nearly immediately fires a single shot, hitting Dubose in the head.
DuBose’s death comes after months of national debate about police use of force against African-Americans, especially when the force resulted in death. The judge rejected the defence attorney’s contention that Tensing wasn’t a flight risk.
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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. Mr DuBose held up what appears to be a bottle of gin.
