Former Officer Ray Tensing on Trial For Killing Sam DuBose
On July 19 2015, Sam DuBose was shot and killed by now former University of Cincinnati Police Officer Ray Tensing. Hamilton County prosecutors say that DuBose’s death was unwarranted and it was murder. Sam did not have a weapon or appear to be reaching for a weapon.
Tensing’s defense is that DuBose dragged him with the car.
Prosecutors say that Tensing’s bodycam shows that he was not dragged. A grand jury indicted Tensing on charges of murder and voluntary manslaughter. Tensing was terminated from the police department.
The murder charge carries the possibility of life in prison. The voluntary manslaughter charge carries the possibility of 3 to 11 years in prison.
Tensing’s Background
Raymond Tensing (born November 13, 1989),was 25 years old at the time of the shooting. He joined the University of Cincinnati Police Department (UCPD) in April 2014, and was previously an officer with the department of Greenhills, Ohio. Tensing had left the Ohio State Highway Patrol’s training academy after attending for one day. The New York Times reports that according to a highway patrol spokesman, Tensing was unable to adapt to the physical and mental requirements.
Civil Suit
In January 2016, the University of Cincinnati settled a lawsuit with the family of Samuel DuBose. The settlement was $5.3 million and allows for DuBose’s children to have free tuition to the college. DuBose’s family was represented by Mark O’Mara, the attorney who defended George Zimmerman against 2nd degree murder charges for the killing of unarmed 17-year old Trayvon Martin.
Selected Jury
On Monday, a jury was selected. The jury consists of two Black women, four White women and six White men. All alternates are white.
Today, both sides presented opening arguments. Jurors visited the scene of the deadly shooting.
Live stream
Court Chatter and Wild About Trial are live streaming the trial. The best live stream I’ve found is WCPO.
We’ll keep daily updates in the comment section below.
Tensing’s bodycam video
Prosecutor Joe Deter’s opening statement
Defense Attorney Stew Mathews’ opening statement
Posted on 11/01/2016, in Cases, Cops Gone Wild, Sam DuBose, Trial Videos and tagged Cincinnatti, manslaughter, murder, Ray Tensing, Sam DuBose, trial. Bookmark the permalink. 90 Comments.
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Summary of opening statements by WLWT reporter Nikki Ferrell and investigative reporter Todd Dykes (excerpt from article linked below) :
http://www.wlwt.com/article/ray-tensing-jurors-to-visit-scene-of-shooting/8063327
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Judge Megan Shanahan ruled that Sam DuBose’s medical and criminal history will not be allowed in Ray Tensing’s murder trial. However, the marijuana found in DuBose’s car at the time of his death can be used in court.
“There is no scientific ability to determine when Samuel DuBose last ingested marijuana, and it would be inappropriate to allow that evidence,” Shanahan said. “It’s a leap to say that his medical condition affected his behavior at the scene when he was stopped by the defendant.”
Regarding DuBose’s criminal record, Shanahan said “the rules are clear when prior records come in. Even with an extensive record, it’s clear that the probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice and, frankly, has no place in this trial.”
http://www.wcpo.com/news/crime/ray-tensings-attorneys-file-motion-to-use-sam-duboses-criminal-background-as-evidence
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Dear Xena,
It looks like another police officer who committed cold blooded murder will be doing jail time .I hate it when a victim who cannot defend themselves because they are deceased, are also put on trial.
Hugs, Gronda
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Gronda,
I truly hope that Tensing is found guilty, whether it’s murder or manslaughter.
I agree — victims should not be placed on trial. It’s at a point now that if a person was arrested for jaywalking 20 years ago, defense attorneys want to use that against the deceased victim.
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Me too, as if anything that happened in his past made Tensing kill him. I hope he is found guilty and serves ‘real’ time but with 6 white men on the jury I don’t see that happening. 😥
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This week is also the trial of ex cop Michael Slager for the killing of Walter Scott.
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Hey Chuquest! Thanks for the comment. It looks like a jury might be sworn in tomorrow. If that happens and they move on to opening statements, I’ll post a separate thread so we can follow that trial also.
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For those watching live, Court Chatter and Wild About Trial does not seem to be airing it. I found it live streamed at
http://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/hamilton-county/cincinnati/follow-live-witnesses-taking-stand-in-day-2-of-ray-tensing-trial
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Trial: Morning of November 2, 2016. Part 1. The jury sees the body cam video.
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November 2, 2016 Part 2
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November 2, 2016, Part 3
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Mathews is a defense attorney. He did not want the jury to see DuBose’s autopsy photos.
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I’m liking this judge
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Oh wow
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Mindyme!
Indeed. That has been a problem when Black people are killed by law enforcement. Some folks seem to think they deserve death for disobeying or not immediately following the commands law enforcement. They even think it appropriate in states that do not have the death penalty for murder.
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It’s really scary to me when people want our LEO to have that kind of power
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Mindyme,
That is true. It is scary. What is even more scary are people who want that type of power and use police officers as their proxies. Remember the guy who called in the false report on John Crawford? There are others also who called in false reports resulting in innocent, unarmed people being killed by law enforcement who proceeded based on those false reports.
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We want our LEO to follow the same laws they are sworn to uphold. When a human life is taken, accidently or otherwise, LE should face the same consequences as we would. No ‘oopsie’s’ allowed.
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November 3, 2016, Part 1. Tensing’s police interview
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Here is the transcript of the above interview video of Ofc. Tensing:
Click to access tensing-interview-7-21-2015-1478195026.pdf
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Excerpt from transcript of Ofc. Tensing’s interview statement:
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Oh transcripts!! thank you! i tried to watch the interview before the testimony but i couldn’t hear or understand half of what tensing said!!
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November 3, 2016, Part 2
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November 3, 2016. Day 3, Part 3
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http://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/hamilton-county/cincinnati/ray-tensing-trial-sam-dubose-case-did-prosecutors-just-destroy-tensings-defense
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Also, from that same article are these two points:
http://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/hamilton-county/cincinnati/ray-tensing-trial-sam-dubose-case-did-prosecutors-just-destroy-tensings-defense
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Starting at timestamp 4:57 —
GRANT FREDERICKS: (Video expert) : So the perspective of the camera is here.
PROSECUTOR: Here.
FREDERICKS: Correct. So, the perspective of the camera is here. The camera can’t see that area unless the camera is located just about at the center of the window. That’s the only reason we have this perspective. And, because it’s located on his [Tensing’s] chest, that, at the time of the shooting, the camera is located above the center of the window, obviously the officer’s eyes would have been a foot and a half higher than that.
PROSECUTOR: Are you, you also reviewed the statement of Ofc. Tensing?
FREDERICKS: Yes.
PROSECUTOR: And, I know, at one point, on page 27, line 4, he said the following: “I pulled my gun out, and as I’m falling, I’m kinda, believe, I’m below the plane of his window, so the only shot I could see to stop the threat was a headshot.”
Based on your analysis of this and the (?way?) the camera was, is there any way Ofc. Tensing’s body camera could have captured that image if he was, as he said he was in the statement, below the plane of the window.
DEFENSE objects.
JUDGE overrules.
FREDERICKS: No, there’s no possibility that his head could be beneath the camera. If the camera, if his head were at the level of the window, then the camera facing very close to the door of the care. And, we would just have a dark, dark door.
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I want to give a special shout-out of thanks to Lady Justice for the trial videos.
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November 4, 2016, Part 1
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November 4, 2016, Part 2
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Jury Boycott
Today, the judge in the Tensing trial agreed to release juror questionnaires to the media with the names redacted.
Jurors refused to enter the courtroom. I am waiting on a printed report to report the result.
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omg What??
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The jury questionnaire has been added to the right-side border for further reference. You can see it now at this link.
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Excerpt from ABC’s article titled “OFFICER ALLEGEDLY WORE CONFEDERATE FLAG T-SHIRT ON DAY OF FATAL SHOOTING”:
On another unrelated topic:
I was looking for articles and pictures of the Great Smoky Mountains and came across an interesting Southern Poverty Law Center December 3, 2014 article titled ” ‘KLANBLY FRIENDLY’ TENNESSEE: STATE BECOMES HATE TOURIST MECCA” at this link:
https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2014/12/03/klanbly-friendly-tennessee-state-becomes-hate-tourist-mecca
Excerpt:
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oh my gawd
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Amazing! So he wore his standard uniform under his law enforcement uniform, uh?
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The gag order is reported in the following video, and the evidence of the t-shirt he wore under his uniform.
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This is just unreal. And blows every argument that (some) cops aren’t racist.
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“Trial revelation: Tensing wore Confederate flag shirt under uniform”
http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/tensing/2016/11/04/what-expect-friday-tensing-murder-trial/93257366/
Except:
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(What appeared above in bold print should appear as non-bold blockquote )
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Fixed it.
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Thanks!
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November 7, 2016, Part 1
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November 7, 2016, Part 2
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November 7, 2016, Part 3
Autopsy is explained.
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Tensing is looking away from the autopsy photos. He sees what killing someone looks like.
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November 8, 2016, Part 1
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I need to go back and see when the defense began putting on its case. Ray Tensing testifies in the following video.
November 8, 2016,Part 2
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Closing arguments are on schedule for tomorrow.
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November 8, 2016, Part 3
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I’m confused. Why is he crying now which is four months after he shot Sam (above testimony video timestamp 11:00 to 17:00) but not during his initial police interview when he recounted what happened?
See initial police interview below starting at timestamp 24:00 —-
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Yahtzee,
Tensing didn’t cry during his police interview, probably because he felt his story was good enough to be believed. He cried on the witness stand today, for himself. He cried for himself because he is on trial.
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That is the impression I get also.
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Yahtzee,
Yep.
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The prosecutor could not have done a better job. He showed Tensing to be a flat out liar.
Yet Tensing will walk on this I believe. How does one prove someone else wasn’t really in fear for their life? It’s a BS defense that seems to work everytime. 😦
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Cross-examination starts around 26:40 of Part 3. You don’t want to miss it.
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Just watched the cross-examination by the prosector. Whew! He didn’t give Ofc. Tensing any wiggle room as he showed Tensing the screenshots that are factual. I’m think that the jury would have become tired of hearing Tensing keep saying the words “my perception.”
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Tensing is taking the position of using discretion based on his perception. That works when LE says they “thought” the suspect was going for a gun.
Even perception is based on facts. A person/suspect would need to move their hands in a manner, and to such a place, where a gun can be hidden. A person doesn’t “perceive” they are being dragged by a vehicle when testifying that their upper body was not on the ground.
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The jury has received its instructions and will now be sequestered as they deliberate.
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November 9, 2016. Closing arguments. Part 1. The State argues first.
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Am about to watch the last video. Tensing lied, he is a liar. But I don’t think you will find 6 white men who will find him guilty. They will see the life of a living white law enforcement officer of having more value than that of a slain man of color.
To indict and bring to trial these officers isn’t enough when they kill unarmed citizens and lie about it. There has to be convictions or the entire process becomes a joke.
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There’s a rumor there’s a holdout. I hope you’re wrong tho. This was a perfect prosecution from what i see. If they let him go, there’s no hope.
Tensing is a bold faced liar. And Sam saw that gun in his face & heard that shot.
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The jury cannot decide on the charge of murder nor the charge of manslaughter. The judge sent the jury back to further deliberate. It pretty much depends on how many jurors have decided on a guilty verdict, and how many have decided on acquittal.
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Trauma! I really hope they do the right thing.
your message was 2hrs ago, i hope i see some good news below!!!1
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The jury cannot decide on the charge of murder nor the charge of manslaughter. The judge sent the jury back to further deliberate. It pretty much depends on how many jurors have decided on a guilty verdict, and how many have decided on acquittal.
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Shannon,
I have Courtchatter up watching it live, but need to take a dinner break. If there’s no verdict by 7 p.m., the judge might have the jury return on Monday.
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November 9, 2016, Closing arguments Part 2
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I’ll be on pins and needles til the jury returns with a verdict
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And while we wait, it seems Zimmerslime has been misbehaving again.
http://www.actionnewsjax.com/news/local/george-zimmerman-trespassed-at-seminole-county-bar-yelled-racial-slur-deputies-say/466046439
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The story reports he was at the bar with Amanda Horne. His attorney in the Epperson case
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Mindyme,
Thanks for the link. This week with 2 trials and the election has tired me out, but I think I have about 10 minutes of energy to open a blog post about the coward who killed Trayvon. 🙂
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Live stream here:
http://www.fox19.com/story/33456144/trial-of-ray-tensing-live-blog-stream
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Judge asks jury to return to jury room to deliberate further.
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The jury had a question regarding the definition of “arrest.” Judge Shanahan told the jury that they had all the information and instructions needed.
So, it seems that someone on the jury is trying to put Sam Dubose on trial. The only thing that matters, in my opinion, is whether Tensing shot Sam in self-defense. From the video and trial testimony, it is obvious that Sam posed no threat to Tensing when Tensing shot him.
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Why is the arrest relevant? Its not like being arrested means you lose your right to live, even if you resist.
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Judge declared mistrial…jury was deadlocked.
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