Ohio prosecutor to announce whether he’ll try cop 3rd time
CINCINNATI (AP) – An Ohio prosecutor will announce Tuesday whether he will try a white former police officer a third time for the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man during a traffic stop.
Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters scheduled an early afternoon news conference. Two juries deadlocked on the charges of murder and voluntary manslaughter against Ray Tensing in the July 19, 2015, fatal shooting of Sam DuBose.
Defense attorney Stewart Mathews has asked the judge to dismiss charges. Judge Leslie Ghiz has set a July 24 meeting in the case.
The since-fired 27-year-old University of Cincinnati officer testified that he feared for his life when DuBose, 43, tried to drive away from a stop that began over a missing front license plate.
There have been several protests and demonstrations supporting a third trial since the latest mistrial June 23. Civil rights activists last week joined the DuBose family in calling for a third trial.
However, some legal experts say the odds are against a conviction.
Deters recently told a WLW radio talk show that the likelihood of gaining a conviction would be the key factor for him.
“I’m going to do what I think is right,” Deters said.
The case is among several around the nation that have raised attention to how police respond to black people and underlined the reluctance of many jurors to convict officers for on-duty shootings.
In other recent cases, juries in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Oklahoma acquitted police officers for on-duty shootings.
Federal authorities announced last week they ended an investigation without pursuing any charges in the 2014 fatal police shooting of a black man who was holding an air rifle in a Wal-Mart store in suburban Dayton, Ohio.