Officer Charged With Murder For Shooting Unarmed Man During Traffic Stop

Cincinnati Cop Indicted For Shooting And Killing Unarmed Black Man During Traffic Stop. Former University of Cincinnati police officer Ray Tensing was indicted on July 30 for murder and voluntary manslaughter after he fatally shot Samuel DuBose during a July 19 traffic stop. While Tensing claims he feared for his life because DuBose began to drive away with his vehicle, body camera footage appears to contradict that claim. From CNN:

Former University of Cincinnati Police Officer Ray Tensing pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges of murder and voluntary manslaughter in the July 19 shooting death of Samuel DuBose.

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Tensing fatally shot DuBose, 43, during a July 19 traffic stop over an alleged missing license tag. The officer has said he was forced to fire his weapon after almost being run over.

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The officer's account was contradicted by Deters, the prosecutor, who said that Tensing was not dragged.

“This just does not happen in the United States. People don't get shot for a traffic stop unless they are violent towards the police officer, and he (DuBose) wasn't,” Deters said. “He was simply slowly rolling away. That's all he did.” [CNN.com, 7/30/15]

Fox News Pundits Suggest DuBose Shared Fault With Police Officer For His Death

Fox Host Eric Bolling: "People Have To Realize You Can't Resist Arrest." On the July 30 edition of Fox News' The Five, the co-hosts discussed DuBose's death at the hands of the police officer, and Eric Bolling stated, “People have to realize you can't resist arrest” (emphasis added):

ERIC BOLLING: It's tough because look, first of all it's a tragedy, I mean, there's another instance where someone had a missing front license plate and ends up dead. If you watch -- by the way, body cams, if this doesn't tell you there should be body cams on both sides of the debate. Good cop, bad cop, no matter what, the body cam will end up being the most important piece of evidence in the trial. But everyone is rushing this, prosecutor just said the cop is guilty of murder. He's already indicted him. And I'm not defending this at all. But people have to realize you can't resist arrest. This guy is taking off. I don't think that cop was fearing for his life. So I think he'll probably be found guilty or something, but stop resisting. [Fox News, The Five, 7/30/15]

Fox Host Kimberly Guilfoyle: “Why Put Yourself Also In Danger ... Just Comply, Please.” The Five co-host Kimberly Guilfoyle told Bolling, “I hear what you're saying” after he argued that people should “stop resisting” arrest. While acknowledging that “what the officer did was wrong,” Guilfoyle advised people to “just comply [with cops], please” to avoid putting yourself in danger:

KIMBERLY GUILFOYLE: I hear what you're saying. Saying this is unnecessary. Why put yourself also in danger?

BOLLING: Exactly. Time and time again. It always comes down to someone getting hurt, getting killed, bad decisions by a cop. But those decisions wouldn't have been made if the perp didn't run away. Can you imagine what society would be like if everyone thought, if I just run away that cop can't chase me? We'd be a lawless society.

GUILFOYLE: No, it's very difficult. And again, this is all about what's probable cause to pull somebody over, right? And it's front license plate, broken windshield, license and registration, et cetera, et cetera. So, you know they look at the tags on the back of the car. That is a justifiable stop. Just comply, please. Listen. Like don't lose your life because you don't know who's on the other end of it. I mean, it shouldn't be this way. What the officer did was wrong. The jury will decide ultimately though. [Fox News, The Five, 7/30/15]

Fox News Contributor: “That's Not Right Either” For DuBose To Drive Away From The Cop. On the July 30 edition of Fox News' Hannity, network contributor Bo Dietl argued that while it doesn't “outweigh this terrible, terrible crime,” DuBose shouldn't have attempted to drive away from the traffic stop, saying “that's not right either”:

DAVID WEBB: I think anger played a big part in this. You've got a confrontation between two young men, essentially. And it heats up and then they move on. I mean, it moves on and it escalates.

[CROSSTALK]

ERIC GUSTER: But he was driving away. He was driving away from the incident. The cop was nowhere near his car. Nowhere near getting hit. And then they lied about it.

BO DIETL: Eric, this doesn't outweigh this terrible, terrible crime. Which, I'll call it a crime. The fact is, if he sat there -- For people [to] comply with the police. That's what I'm getting at is, let's all try and listen to the cop --

GUSTER: Oh my gosh --

DIETL: Listen to me. I said it doesn't outweigh the shooting. But should he have just driven away from the cop? Eric, is that right for him to just drive away from the cop? That's not right either.

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I'm not sticking up for the shooting. I'm talking about communication. Communication between cops and people they're stopping. Respect back and forth. [Fox News, Hannity, 7/30/15]