Campus Police Officer charged with Murder

On July 19th University of Cincinnati campus police officer Raymond Tensing (25) shot and killed Samuel DuBose (43), an unarmed black man that he had pulled over for a routine traffic stop. Fortunately for the investigating officers (and perhaps Cincinnati?) Tensing was wearing a Body Camera that captured the entire incident. Tensing’s body camera clearly shows the campus officer asking DuBose questions about his license plate, the ensuing confusion about where DuBose’ driver’s license was, DuBose clearing asking the campus officer why he had been pulled over and Tensing attempting to open the car door and it being pulled shut again by DuBose. What it does not show is a clear indication for the reason the officer pulled his gun and proceeded to shoot and kill the driver. So if the body camera does not show DuBose as acting aggressively or posing a threat to the officer, why did it escalate so quickly into what some are calling “a senseless, asinine shooting”? (www.washingtonpost.com) There are many questions that arise from this situation - should campus police officers be given full authority to act as fully trained police officers? Should all police officers be required to wear body cameras? What could have been done to prevent this from happening? Should Tensing have been still employed by the University of Cincinnati considering his history as a campus officer? “Mr. Deters said Officer Tensing “should never have been a police officer,” but he declined to elaborate”. (www.mobile.nytimes.com) This situation has clearly raised concerns over whether Cincinnati is going to end up like Ferguson and Baltimore and rightly so. Unfortunately there is a recent history of excessive and even deadly force being used against black citizens that were stopped or arrested by white police officers. The difference with this incident is that there is an indisputable video recording of the entire incident thanks to the body camera that officer Tensing was wearing. Now it is up to the authorities to decide how to handle this situation…so far it appears that Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters is doing what he needs to do, he has indicted officer Tensing with murder. Question is will he be able to prosecute him…In a weird twist of fate the union representing the University of Cincinnati police force has filed a grievance on behalf of officer Tensing demanding that he be given his job back. Their reason for this grievance they state is the University fired the officer without due process. So far the University is standing by their decision, let’s hope they stand firm with this decision. If not…will we see yet another city torn apart by hatred and frustration? What are your thoughts? What do you think about campus police officers being given full authority to act as fully trained police officers? Sources: www.washingtonpost.com www.mobile.nytimes.com www.usatoday.com