Killing of Samuel DuBose

On July 19, 2015, in Cincinnati, Ohio, Samuel DuBose, a Black unarmed non-university-affiliated motorist, was fatally shot by Ray Tensing, a University of Cincinnati police officer, after Dubose was stopped outside of the university campus for driving a car without a front license plate.

After asking DuBose to get out of the vehicle, Tensing pulled his gun and shot him in the head. DuBose was unarmed and sitting in his car with his seat belt on at the time of the killing. Tensing shot DuBose in the head moments after DuBose turned the key in the car ignition and put the car in drive after refusing to get out of the car and pulling the door shut. Tensing told police he had to shoot DuBose in the head because DuBose was dragging him down the street. Prosecutors investigated and found that video footage from Tensing's bodycam showed that he was indeed not dragged or caught in the vehicle at any time. Prosecutor Deters and a grand jury indicted Ray Tensing on charges of murder and voluntary manslaughter. Tensing was then fired from the police department. A judge put Tensing on a $1 million bond, and Tensing was released on bail shortly after being arrested.

A November 2016 trial ended in mistrial after the jury became deadlocked. A retrial begun in May 2017 also ended in a hung jury. The charges against Tensing were later dismissed with prejudice though Prosecutor Deters continued to assert that Tensing should have been convicted for shooting Sam DuBose in the head without provocation.

Samuel Vincent DuBose (March 12, 1972 – July 19, 2015), a black 43-year-old man, was a rapper, music producer, entrepreneur, and motorcycle enthusiast. He was the founder of a motorcycle club, Ruthless Riders. He attended high school in Cincinnati and was the father of 13 children. He was deeply loved by his family, friends and many in the community. He was not affiliated with the University of Cincinnati.

Raymond Tensing (born November 13, 1989), a white police officer who was 25 years old at the time of the shooting, had four years of law enforcement experience. He joined the University of Cincinnati Police Department (UCPD) in April 2014, having previously been a well-regarded officer with the department of Greenhills, Ohio. He had left the Ohio State Highway Patrol's training academy after attending for just one day. According to a highway patrol spokesman, he was unable to adapt to the physical and mental requirements.

During the criminal investigation and trial, it was learned that Tensing led his police department in arrests and citations and had the largest racial disparity of any other police officer. Blacks accounted for 82.5% of Tensing's arrests, according to a report cited by the prosecutor.

In 2015, a YouTube video was uploaded by WCPO 9 News Cincinnati where Tensing is seen unlawfully questioning a passenger of a vehicle that had been stopped due to a dragging bumper. Tensing initially refused to call a supervisor and refused to identify himself or badge number. A supervisor was eventually called to the scene and confirmed that the passenger was within his rights to not identify and that the officer should only have been talking to the driver. Tensing detained the two black men for close to 20 minutes, refusing to write the routine citation and let them go.

The University of Cincinnati Police Department is certified by the state of Ohio and has full police authority throughout the state. They focus their patrols areas on three campuses and the areas around them. UCPD officers receive 616 hours of training at the police academy, plus 80 of rookie training, while city police officers spend 1,040 hours in training.