This July 29, 2015 booking photo provided by the Hamilton County Justice Center in Cincinnati, Ohio shows University of Cincinnati police officer Ray Tensing (AFP Photo/)
Chicago (AFP) – A white Ohio policeman who shot a black man during a routine traffic stop pleaded not guilty to murder charges as two of his colleagues were suspended.
The family of Sam DuBose, 43, has said he would have been dismissed as just “one other stereotype” of a violent black man were it not for a body camera video which showed DuBose did nothing to justify the shooting.
The case comes as the United States grapples with heightened racial tensions in the wake of a series of high-profile incidents of unarmed African Americans being killed by police in disputed circumstances.
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.
University of Cincinnati campus police officer Ray Tensing told investigators that he opened fire out of fear for his life after DuBose tried to drive away and dragged the officer along with him.
One of the officers who responded to the shooting said he saw Tensing being dragged, according to an initial police report.
But prosecutors said a review of the footage showed Tensing was never in danger during the July 19 incident and only hit the ground after he fired the deadly shot.
Two of the responding officers were “placed on paid administrative leave because an internal investigation is now underway,” a spokeswoman for the university told AFP.
The bodycam video shows Tensing approach the car and ask DuBose for his license and registration.
Samuel Dubose
DuBose calmly asks why he was pulled over and eventually tells Tensing that he left his license at home.
— ‘Stop! Stop!’ —
Then, less …Read More
Source:: PM Newspaper
