Comments

1
Twenty bucks says our government will still spend as many tax dollars as it can to protect Tensing from the aftermath of his poor decision.
2
He wasn't even a cop, he was a campus security officer - and this didn't even happen on campus. But the fucker thought he was Dirty Harry.
3
UW Campus Police patrol all over the U District. No difference at UC. They're cops.

That this prosecution is happening in Cincinnati, and so quickly, is stunning. It's a sea change. We'll see if the city can avoid riots.
4
@3 the city? something tells me that this could be a last straw for acceptance of the police is a legitimate institution in this country, there will be protests and riots around the country and, with any luck, some meaningful change in our fundamental ideas of policing.
5
No body cam, no murder charge. Just the cop's story corroborated by another officer. Hell, he'd probably get two weeks paid vacation and a medal.
6
The cameras don't even stop them from killing. Amdbtheir stories are always the same. His co-murderer backs up his story. He should go to prison too. How many murders have cops gotten away with in the past?
7
Yeah, yeah, "good cops/bad apples" - I can hear the apologists' bleatings already. But, the way things are going in this country can anyone articulate a rational, compelling argument why citizens shouldn't simply assume ALL LEO's are lying through their teeth, until such time as their respective departments can provide unambiguous, unimpeachable evidence to the contrary?
8
@3- my thought was that this is precisely why they're acting so quickly & decisively: avoid riots, try to restore/rebuild some measure of trust in the police ("see, we take these kinds of cases very seriously... if they are recorded on video").

@4 - if the officer is found not guilty, I can totally see that happening... right up to the point where you say "with any luck." Not that part.
9
There aren't going to be riots because justice was served. Murderer got charged with murder. For once the system worked.
10
@6, The camera may not have stopped this guy from killing but it will get him off the force and out of society. Hopefully, the swift reaction and long (unless he's killed in jail) prison sentence will make other cops rethink their use of force. Worst case scenario we'll get them all in jail eventually. That's the very worst case though since that would require a lot more videos like this.
11
@9, he hasn't been found guilty yet. Don't count your convictions before they hatch. Still, it's a good start.
12
I'd like to see a legal analysis/breakdown of the incident as the NY Times did for Sandra Bland
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/…

Watching the video a few times as I see it, the moment where things go from "driver attempting escape" to "needlessly killing yet another black man" happens around 1:54. They are scuffling and then the officer sticks his gun INSIDE the vehicle and fires. Dubose seems to have his hands in the air and is not grabbing onto the officer (i.e. he the officer could have let go and stepped away to remove himself from any danger). The officer fires while the car is running but not moving, but once Dubose is killed his foot depresses the gas pedal causing the car to speed away. That knocks the officer on his back at which point he stands up and starts running.

To be fair to the other officers who said in their reports that the officer was dragged, it would be easy to for them to believe they that Mr. Dubose stepped on the gas causing the officer to be pulled forward but the officer squeezes off a shot just as the speeding car causes him to loose his balance (the entire time between gun on camera and car speeding away is less than 2 seconds, and the time between the gunshot and the speeding is less than 1). And this is exactly why we need body cameras, so that we can have an objective look at the chain of events following an incident like this.
13
Rich, I've got to disagree with your description where you say: "Tensing asks Dubose to take off his seatbelt as he simultaneously tries to open Dubose's car door. In response to that, Dubose attempts to drive off. That instant, Tensing pulls out his firearm and shoots Dubose in the head at point-blank range while shouting "Stop! Stop!"

It's worse than that. It looks to me as if the officer tries to open the door, Dubose pulls it shut, then there's a scuffle, then the gunshot, then the car lunges off as Dubose's foot apparently hits the pedal. What I can't figure out is how the hell the cop managed to get his gun out so fast? Was his hand already on it ready to shoot over a freakin' license plate?
14
I've got to agree with unknown_entity. The officer was dragged, but only after firing. When he stands up, he is several yards further down the street, much closer to the parked car and on the other side of the visible driveway.
15
@13, I read it slightly differently. Dubose tries to prevent Tensing from opening the door while starting the car. That prompts Tensing to Dubose and stick his gun in Dubose's. As I see it Dubose is then (naturally) trying to lean away from the gun in his face but because of the angle he is twisted into his foot slightly depresses the gas pedal, which leads Tensing to shoot him. Dead, Dubose's foot then fully depresses the gas causing the car to speed away.
16
The cop had every reason to have his hand on his weapon when it was clear he was dealing with a thug driving with no license. Dubose's license had in fact been permantly revoked and he'd been arrested about 60 times. Why this known scumbag wasn't in jail already is the real mystery.
17
@16: Past arrests have no bearing on what happened.
18
So now driving without a license is a "Death Sentence" too. And you can get arrested for a broken tail light, as we all know now, so 60 arrests means nothing.
That is why this "thug" wasn't in jail.
I'm thinking you might be the real scumbag.
19
@16, just curious how you know he's a 'thug'. Is it because he has no license? He says he has one and doesn't have it on him. If you forget your license does that automatically make you a thug? Or did you check on the national 'thug' index? I'm just curious, because as far as I can tell you're just using the word 'thug' because it sounds a lot better than 'n----r' while it essentially means the same thing. But I would hate to accuse you of being a racist without giving you the chance to defend yourself. Maybe there is some legal or scientific definition of the word I'm unaware of. Maybe you're not just a spiteful, wretched, pathetic little man...
21
@19 His-license-was-suspended-indefinitely (that means forever)-by-the-state-of-Ohio. There, I said it as slow as I could.
22
This horrific crime happened not far from my house. The UC police are full-fledged (supposed) cops, who apparently had an agreement with the city to patrol off-campus, but they are not supposed to stop people for "chickenshit" like this.

They and the Children's Hospital kampus kops patrol my street occasionally, and I fear them, exactly for this reason. Scared white suburbanites "protecting" their scared white suburbanite students, employees and clientele. Justice was served, and I hope these two pay the price for their lying, murdering ways. Kudos to Joe Deters, our county prosecutor.
23
@21,

And while ofcr. Tensing may have been right in suspecting as much, he lacked probable cause to arrest, because he had not even bothered to ask Dubose for his name or date of birth. (Also, you know how police apologists are always crying about the "hindsight?" Well you can't have it both ways by defending the officer's conduct based on information that only came to light later.)
25
Two other points worth making here:

1. Ofcr. Tensing's opening of the car door amounts to an illegal search, since he had not established probable cause that there was any criminal activity underway which would justify such a search.

2. Given a cop illegally reaching into my car, it would strike me as pretty reasonable to turn the car key back to the "on" position in order to roll up the power windows to prevent any further intrusive groping by the officer.
26
@24: Let's take your silly juxtaposition to the next level. Do you want it a law that only registered democrats can become police officers?
27
@21 - Suspended license = thug? What, then can we assume about racist trolls? Just want to be well prepared if we ever meet in the meat world.
28
@27 No retard. Ex-con who's been arrested 60 times is a thug. Is being an ex-con arrested 60 times still a loser at 43 normal in your meat world? If that's the new normal thank God for concealed carry and the Second Amendment.
29
@28 - You seem so fixatd on his 60 arrests, but have any of those been for violent or aggressive crimes? This one charge of murder for the officer trumps any stupid license/license plate charge he has ever received. It's incredible how fast people make the victim out to be the villain when we can all see in this case, he most certainly is not the villain. There is no way to justify this cop shooting this man.
30
@28 - I don't have enough info on those arrests to say what that makes him. That you're a goose-stepping pice of shit is apparent enough; it would be a great crime indeed--even sixty of them--that would make him less worthy of life than you. But even a being as foul as you couldn't possibly deserve to die during a traffic stop for a missing plate and a suspended license.
31
The eeriest thing to me is how quickly it went from perfectly civil traffic stop to homicide. Officer Tensing was speaking politely but firmly and was quite patient with a guy who couldn't seem to decide whether or not he had a license. Mr. DuBose was being deferential and compliant, if a little cagey. And then suddenly he proclaimed his innocence and revved the engine, and then the police officer pulled a gun and shot him in the head. What the hell.

Oh look, Teckel's being a racist piece of shit again.
My uncle's a cop, as I believe I've mentioned before. I'd love to see the look on his face if someone advised him to draw his service weapon while talking civilly with a nonthreatening suspect who might be driving without a license. Heck, never mind my uncle, just strike up a conversation with any cop on the street and tell him that's how he should manage a routine traffic stop with a cooperative driver. What a prize fucking armchair expert you are, you fascist nitwit.
32
When I went to college in New York City, the campus security drove golf carts, had batons and walkie talkies and made me feel safe. In Seattle, the UW police drive muscle cars, are fully armed, and terrify me.
33
@31: Well said venomlash, you are 100% correct! I know we've sparred in the past, but there is no way in fu*king hell such a shooting could ever be justified. And he was such a young sexy dude, it's so sad. Despite any prior offenses, every young man has potential.

I agree with @7, COMTE, there is something else more systemic that is going on than the "bad apples" excuse. This is not a political party issue. It's a fundamental breakdown of government and public safety. Clearly, a total revamp of is needed from the highest levels in Washington D.C. on down. If the Republican party cannot rise up to this, then its time for that party to dissolve and for another party to resurrect the true meaning of a party which stands for limited and unobtrusive government, a reverence for individual liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and the freedom to create as much wealth and prosperity as one could possibly can.
34
My story from 1979: I was a student at the UW and did work in Health Sciences and would work late nights and park my VW Bug in a parking lot across the street from UW Police on Boat Street. One night I returned to the lot to find my car had been stolen. I filed a stolen car report w/city police. Five days later my mom gets a call from a police person saying “It seems your son is having some problems?” my mom wondered about the way it was asked and said “Well, his car was stolen…”, and the police said “yes, that’s it, and his car’s been found and towed to a lot” ( she was upset at the way they asked ). Anyhow, it cost over $130 to get my car back. About three weeks later, I had parked behind Health Sciences for free after 9pm to do another project and finished and left in my car around 12:30am. I was driving to the exit when a campus cop car lit up its lights and quick siren to pull me over. The policemen yelled at me to get out of my car and put my hands on the car. One came up to me with his gun drawn and said “do you know you’re driving a stolen car?”. I was shocked at this but explained everything and showed my ID etc. but was pissed that the computer record that my stolen car was reported found by Seattle police but hadn’t been updated and still indicated that my car was stolen. I was glad when it was all over and never thought to file any complaint “it was a database glitch? not human error?” - but I actually was glad it was Campus Police and not another police dept.! I have told people since about having a gun pointed at me by UW Campus Police for driving my own car. Demographic note: Caucasian Male.
35
@26, that's not the "next level". That's about 20 more levels.
36
One note to the writer: "shooting out tires" is action movie nonsense and not something that police are encouraged to attempt.
38
Completely agree with Venomlash’s confusion over the officer’s change in demeanor. In watching this video it feels as though he goes from Sergeant Friendly to murderer in a matter of seconds. It’s so strange and escalates so very, very quickly. I’m not sure if this was a fight/flight trigger for him or what, but clearly his brain’s immediate response was that it was more acceptable to shoot a person than it was for the unlicensed black driver to (horrors) drive away! Whatever is happening here – there is clearly a nationwide epidemic of officers who are poorly trained in dealing with escalating conflict scenarios. There HAS to be better training available for these officers and they need to do it effective immediately. This death, like all the others, was completely preventable and entirely unacceptable.
40
The cop was being courteous, respectful and appropriate right up to the point where he pulled his gun and shot the driver in the head.

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