Cincinnati Campus Cop Kills Unarmed Black Man

Well, of course the headline has to say "Unarmed Black Man," but in any case, here we go:

A newly engaged dad was fatally shot by a University of Cincinnati cop on Sunday—raising questions about the university force’s authority off campus and adding to the toll of unarmed black men dying in police encounters.

UC officer Ray Tensing pulled over Sam Dubose, 43, a mile from the school because he was missing a front license plate, police announced Monday.

But at some point during the 6:30 p.m. traffic stop, Tensing and the father of 13 allegedly began tussling through the car window. Dubose started driving away and Tensing fired a shot into his head, authorities said.

“Officer Tensing…asked Mr. Dubose multiple times to provide a license,” university police chief Jason Goodrich said at a press conference. “He produced a bottle of alcohol inside the car … but was unable to provide a driver’s license.”

Authorities say a struggle ensued when Dubose refused to exit the vehicle. He was shot moments after trying to speed off, and the car rolled for a block before stopping. Dubose was pronounced dead at the scene, Goodrich said.

The Daily Beast (contains a bit of editorializing)

It does appear that there is body-cam footage of the encounter, along with apparent nearby surveillance footage from a building, neither of which have been released yet per (apparently) the instruction of the prosecutor, and the chief says they're waiting to get the Officer Tensing's statement and cross-reference with the video to see how they match up--I would hope that has happened by now (the interview), as this incident if a day-and-one-half old at this point.

As of Monday afternoon, investigators were waiting to interview Tensing and two other officers at the scene. All three cops declined to make immediate statements but have 24 hours to do so according to their contracts, Cincinnati police Lt. Col. James Whalen said.

The interesting (and breath-of-fresh-air thing) concerning this instance is that, so far, there have been no angry riots. No buildings have been burned. No property destroyed. No traffic blocked.

What there has been is a community, friends, and family mourning the loss of a father of 13 in an appropriate way. They want answers, as all of us would, and they are angry--a common initial emotional response. But the community isn't acting like a bunch of tantrum-throwing children, and that is awesome.

I feel for this community and his children, friends, and family, and I impatiently await more evidence to see what happened to cause this deadly confrontation.

Please don't jump to ignorant conclusions without all of the evidence; don't let the words "unarmed black man" immediately produce an, at this point, unwarranted bias in your consideration of the possibilities in this case.

Hell, I don't even know if the officer is white--I can't seem to find a picture of him, and I haven't been watching this on the news to see if they've posted a picture of him. I would assume that using "unarmed black man" implies that he is, but we'll see.

Here is a local source with some information on the press conference held yesterday (July 20): WLWT.

a reply to: SlapMonkey

13 kids? Holy smokes, that's a lot of mouths to feed!

It's a shame the headline didn't read, "Darwin candidate dies as a result of stupidity".

What the hell is so difficult about providing your drivers license? Simply hand over your ID and insurance card and go from there. I'm not saying the officer should have shot the guy in the head, but damn, common sense could have prevailed here and the situation wouldn't have escalated to this degree.

From initial reports, this guy committed suicide by cop. IMO.

Fox 19 provide a picture of a white policeman in the context of the story,
There is no reason to believe otherwise, all other pictures are related.


www.fox19.com...
snippet,
"It doesn't appear Dubose ever displayed a weapon or exited his vehicle, authorities said."

a reply to: KawRider9

Dubose was driving on an indefinitely suspended license, so he had no license to provide.

a reply to: smurfy

Thanks for uploading the photo...the one local station I didn't check. Go figure.

Is it standard procedure to shoot someone to death who's driving away from a traffic stop without permission?

I'm not saying he ought not be arrested and charged with flight, DUI and so on, but damn, whupping out the sidearm and blazing away seems a bit of a total overreaction, excessive force, and a needless threat to anyone in the background.

Time to raise the bar on public executions, maybe just a little? Jeez.

a reply to: Bedlam

I am kinda with you on this one. However, I would await the release of the videos. For all we know, Dubose drove away with the cops arm in his grasp, which could be considered attempted murder to some. Not saying that is true, its mere speculation. Which is why we need to wait for the facts to come out before laying down judgement on EITHER side.

driving away from a cop is not attempting to harm said cop. ergo cop was in no danger. ergo it's murder. again.

" “Officer Tensing…asked Mr. Dubose multiple times to provide a license,” university police chief Jason Goodrich said at a press conference. “He produced a bottle of alcohol inside the car … but was unable to provide a driver’s license.”

Authorities say a struggle ensued when Dubose refused to exit the vehicle." - so i guess the 'authorities' don't need to 'wait for all the facts' before their own 'speculation'

a reply to: SlapMonkey

University police are now allowed to police-off campus and have the same duties as regular police officers? Back when I was in college (early 80's), the university police only patrolled on campus. Most were the same age as those attending college. Most of their duties involved disturbances on campus, public rowdiness and public intoxication. Even the public intoxication wasn't really enforced except when campus vandalism and disorderly conduct was involved. I may be wrong, but I don't even think they were armed except with pepper spray.

You're asking for trouble when you allow campus police who are not fully trained police officers to carry guns and enforce laws off-campus. However as we've seen time and time again, even fully trained officers are trigger happy.

a reply to: Bedlam

Is it standard procedure to shoot someone to death who's driving away from a traffic stop without permission?

I assume that is a rhetorical question?

...whupping out the sidearm and blazing away seems a bit of a total overreaction, excessive force, and a needless threat to anyone in the background.

Anytime any bystander gets hurt in an altercation, or meeting with a cop, it is added to charges. Cops don't perpetrate anything, man, and they seldom face charges.

I'm not saying he ought not be arrested and charged with flight, DUI and so on...

He'll be charged with all of that, and more. It's not like he's able to retain an attorney, with a 44 in his head.

And neither is that pretty, but uppity, dead woman who made an unlucky turn in Texas, Sandra Bland. Christ! I cannot imagine running into a cop. One shred of spirt, a spark of defiance, an ember of 'interest', something the machine relays from a list, or a failing 'quota', and you're hooked, and you may never be released! Overcome by the shame of it all, Sandra found it expedient to hang herself rather than to place shame on her good family name.

Some days it doesn't pay to leave the cage. I found a dollar, and a lighter, yesterday, when I braved daylight, but looking at all this, was it worth the risk? Except…now they use 'anonymous tips' to help shake out the ones they can't round up on the street. Probably a good idea to not get placed on the hit list. Young, old, black or white. They will blow you away because you awoke when your door came crashing down on your head. It's what they do. See Eugene Mallory. He was 80, so no big deal. Standard Death Van Detail (He probably didn't even blog). For the New World. Their world.

www.youtube.com...

They hate us…for our 'freedom'; read: growing awareness of who they are. And we know who they are. They're the ones who we can't criticize. Cops are their brownshirts. And, they keep excellent records, naturlich, so they can be the 'winners' of a war that often turns against them, as history has shown.

# 479

a reply to: WeRpeons

I suggest you read the news story. These are real police officers, employed by UC with an agreement with the city to patrol the area surrounding the campus as well.

It helps when you educate yourself before barfing out emotional vomit.

originally posted by: WeRpeons
a reply to: SlapMonkey

University police are now allowed to police-off campus and have the same duties as regular police officers?

Rumor had it that ours were generally the guys that didn't make the cut at Georgia Highway Patrol Academy, but weren't quite bad enough to just get rid of.

The consolation prize was an offer to go to school cop academy, which has somewhat lower standards, I suspect.

originally posted by: TheWhiteKnight
a reply to: Bedlam

Is it standard procedure to shoot someone to death who's driving away from a traffic stop without permission?

I assume that is a rhetorical question?

It's up to local law. Some states allow cops to open fire on people fleeing to avoid arrest, others don't. I don't know what the setup is there.

originally posted by: KawRider9
a reply to: SlapMonkey

13 kids? Holy smokes, that's a lot of mouths to feed!

It's a shame the headline didn't read, "Darwin candidate dies as a result of stupidity".

What the hell is so difficult about providing your drivers license? Simply hand over your ID and insurance card and go from there. I'm not saying the officer should have shot the guy in the head, but damn, common sense could have prevailed here and the situation wouldn't have escalated to this degree.

From initial reports, this guy committed suicide by cop. IMO.

What so hard with the pig just letting him go taking his number plate then arresting him later?

Not only is 13 kids a bewildering number -

As for Dubose, he has been arrested 75 times in the last 20 years, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported.

I don't think Otis on Andy Griffith could beat that record.
How was this guy not in jail where at least he wouldn't get shot?
I can't get past 13 and 75 to wonder anything else about the story.
smh

originally posted by: WeRpeons

You're asking for trouble when you allow campus police who are not fully trained police officers to carry guns and enforce laws off-campus.

The UC officers undergo the same training as other law enforcement officers and are “commissioned by the state of Ohio with full law enforcement authority,” according to one campus report.

a reply to: WeRpeons
My house is 3 miles from a university campus. Our university police ARE real police. They also cover the surrounding town because it only has 1 cop. They have the same law enforcement credentials and training as all other law enforcement officers. I don't know about this case but I think that is usually how it is.

It's amazing how all the facts about this incident has not been release, yet all the COP HATERS on ATS are jumping right in on there perception of none factual comments.

I'm thinking it's time for ATS to produce a "COP HATERS" section since ATS seems to be full of them.

Get the facts before commenting and let's have meaningful threads and not just beat downs without facts. I guess this could go for most topics on ATS.

Peace

originally posted by: KnightFire
It's amazing how all the facts about this incident has not been release, yet all the COP HATERS on ATS are jumping right in on there perception of none factual comments.

I'm thinking it's time for ATS to produce a "COP HATERS" section since ATS seems to be full of them.

Get the facts before commenting and let's have meaningful threads and not just beat downs without facts. I guess this could go for most topics on ATS.

Peace

Yeah amazing that when people say they don't feel that a man deserves to be shot in the head for a minor transgression of driving away, which happens thousands of times a day across the globe, it is a clear sign that people "HATE" the police.

I challenge you to quote one post in this thread that is hate filled!

originally posted by: Asktheanimals
Not only is 13 kids a bewildering number -

As for Dubose, he has been arrested 75 times in the last 20 years, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported.

I don't think Otis on Andy Griffith could beat that record.
How was this guy not in jail where at least he wouldn't get shot?
I can't get past 13 and 75 to wonder anything else about the story.
smh

This is the kind of person some really want to defend in this thread?

WTF?

A criminal acting like a criminal gets treated like a criminal and dies because of his own criminal choices.

Good riddance.