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No Third Trial For Former UC Officer In Murder Case

Cincinnati Enquirer

There will not be a third trial for former University of Cincinnati police officer Ray Tensing. 

Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters says he can't try Tensing again on murder and voluntary manslaughter charges for the death of unarmed black motorist Samuel DuBose if he doesn't believe he can get a conviction. 

 
"My heart breaks for the DuBose family.  And I know what they're feeling, 'cuz I'd feel the same way.  But, after talking to these jurors, there is not a liklihood of success at trial."
 
Two previous juries failed to reach a verdict. The U-S Attorneys office is now investigating to see if any federal civil rights charges are warranted. Deters says he thinks the federal case stands a chance. 
 
"They can introduce evidence of racial prejudice.  We were not permitted to do that in our case."
 
Deters says that includes Tensing's high arrest rate of African Americans and the confederate flag t-shirt he was wearing during the July 2015 traffic stop.  Cincinnati attorney Al Gerhardstein says the family are ready to push for a federal civil rights investigation in the case.   The sister of Sam DuBose says his death exposes a bigger problem in the country. Terina Allen says she hopes the failure to prosecute Ray Tensing for a third time doesn't mean other police officers won't be charged.  Allen pointed to the fatal police shooting of an unarmed Australia woman in Minneapolis last weekend...
 
"I don't care if you're white or black.  This fight to me is about law enforcement having a free rein to shoot and kill people.  They're just getting away with it far more with blacks.  They doing it way more with black, but they doing it with every ethnic group in America."
 
Allen says she was raised to respect police officers, but will not respect a society that allows them to violate the law. 
 

A native of Chicago, naturalized citizen of Cincinnati and resident of Columbus, Alison attended Earlham College and the Ohio State University. She has equal passion for Midwest history, hockey and Slavic poetry.
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