In a Tuesday afternoon press conference in Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio prosecutor Joe Deters announced that there will be no third trial of former University of Cincinnati police officer Raymond Tensing in the shooting death of Samuel Dubose after a traffic stop. In a diatribe that followed, Mr. Deters stated his belief that the Murder charge against the officer was valid and announced that his office had turned over to the Department of Justice all of their evidence in the hope of a Federal prosecution of the officer for violation of U.S. code Section 1983 for violation of Civil Rights.
Mr. Deters stated that his office had investigated 51 cases of police involved shootings since 2008 and that this was the first prosecution of a police officer. He failed to mention that his office has never had a successful prosecution of a police officer in a deadly force case. Deters met with the family of Dubose prior to the press conference to personally inform them of his decision. Deters also blamed the loss in the two prior trials on the racial divide stating that the jurors, both black and white, told him he would never be able to get a conviction in this case. He also announced that the two trials cost the taxpayers more than one million dollars and that his office hired the top experts in the country.
The Dubose family held “court” on the street outside of the Prosecutor’s Office immediately after the announcement decrying the racism in Hamilton County, Ohio and demanding justice (vengeance) from the State of Ohio.