I was skimming stories over on the RAWSTORY website, after reading more about the Cleveland RTA officer who pepper-sprayed the BLM protesters during the incident where a 14-year-old child was pulled off a transit bus for being intoxicated, when I came across an article detailing another killing of an unarmed black man. The story discusses a protest held in Cinncinnati this past Sunday to remember Samuel Dubose, 43, shot to death 19 July, 2015, by a University of Cinncinnati campus cop. The officer, who was white, executed an off-campus stop on Mr. Dubose after noticing that he did not have a front license plate on his car, something not at all unusual in that area. Dubose was 43.
The article states:
Dubose, was fatally shot last week by officer Ray Tensing of the University of Cincinnati’s police department during a routine traffic stop. His death comes amid intense scrutiny of police-involved shootings nationwide, particularly of unarmed black men.
keep reading below the orange squiggle
As is often the case, the dispatch recording does not jibe with the incident report filed by the officer Tensing. There is no mention of other witnesses so it is unknown, as yet, if any disinterested parties may have seen what happened. On the dispatch call Officer Tensing claims that Mr. Dubose almost ran him over: in his incident report he says Mr. Dubose's car dragged him. The report released by the school states that another campus officer witnessed the shooting (read that here) - s/he is not identified, however.
There is no body-cam or dash-cam video available to examine: the county prosecutor is withholding it pending conclusion of the investigation and grand jury hearing. In the interim, UC has changed its policy to halt off-campus stops and is reviewing all of its policing policies.
In a story from the 20th, published here, a bit of more of the victim's history is discussed, which, according to the authorities, is bad. I agree that he wasn't perfect: he had a record (the police are claiming 75 arrests), and his license had allegedly been suspended. The local media, labeling him as less than a model citizen, also report that Mr. Dubose had 20 children (all of whom he saw and supported, according to friends, family, and acquaintances).
Friends and family, when questioned at the protest, all suggest that Samuel Dubose was a 'linch-pin of the community' for whom the behavior as described by the campus police officer, would have been out of character. Samuel Dubose was active: he worked as a local DJ, worked with and mentored kids, and actively supported his friends and family in reaching their goals. People seem pretty consistent in their description of him as "a good man".
Two women attending the protest summed it up:
Dubose was a “sweet, gentle, kind” person, said a woman named Dana who declined to give her last name. Dubose grew up in the same household as her cousin, she said.
“There’s no excuse for what they did,” she said. “Everyone who knew him, loved him.”
A woman standing at her side named Ramona, who also declined to give her last name, echoed the remark, saying Dubose was “a good man.”
She added: ”They picked the wrong one this time.”
Another one gone. {SIGH}