Two campus officers involved in Sam Dubose shooting cleared of wrongdoing
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Version 0 of 1. Two officers who responded to the fatal shooting of unarmed 43-year-old Samuel Dubose in Cincinnati will not face criminal charges. UC officers Phillip Kidd and David Lindenschmidt were accused of lying to help former officer Ray Tensing cover up facts from the shooting — videos of the incident allegedly showed both officers repeating false claims that Mr Dubose's vehicle dragged the officer. Samuel DuBose, son of the deceased Samuel DuBose, speaks to the crowd during a demonstration outside the Hamilton County Courthouse on Wednesday. Joe Deters, Hamilton County Prosecutor, brought the case to a grand jury who declined to produce charges against the pair. “Two UC officers arrived on the scene as Tensing was reaching into Mr Dubose’s car. Both officers made comments at the scene but later were interviewed in depth by Cincinnati Police Officers about what they had had witnessed. In their official interviews, neither officer said that they had seen Tensing being dragged,” Mr Deters wrote in a statement. “These officers were totally cooperative in the investigation and consistent in their statements. There was some confusion over the way the initial incident report was drafted but that was not a sworn statement by the officers and merely a short summary of information. “When the officers were specifically asked about what they saw and heard, their statements matched Tensing’s body camera video. These officers have been truthful and honest about what happened and no charges are warranted.” The university placed on both cops administrative leave on Thursday and fired Mr Tensing on Wednesday. Lindsay Scribner, an executive member of UC Students Against Injustice, told The Independent on Thursday that her group was calling for charges against the officers. “The officers who lied and supported Tensing's account are criminals and deserve indictment and conviction. They are an obstruction of justice. They aided to the possible cover up on a murder,” she said. “As a citizen if you know something about a crime and don't speak up and they find out otherwise, you're in trouble. Officer or not, the same should apply in this situation. I hope they face the charges they deserve.” Meanwhile, the Cincinnati grand jury indicted Mr Tensing on murder and voluntary manslaughter charges on Wednesday. The former officer pleaded not guilty in court and was released after posting a $1 million bond. |