A court ruled the University of Cincinnati police officers who responded to the death of a man following a routine traffic stop will not be charged on July 31.
Phillip Kidd and David Lindenschmidt, both university police officers, had been accused of covering up facts after their former colleague Ray Tensing shot and killed Sam Dubose. But a Hamilton County prosecutor found that the officers cooperated with the investigation and gave honest accounts in their interviews with Cincinnati police, according to independent.co.uk.
The officers have been on administrative leave since July 29 when it was discovered they falsely claimed to witness Tensing be dragged by the car. Tensing was fired by the school July 29.
Campus Safety Magazine had previously reported that officer Tensing had pulled Dubose over just off the university campus for not having a front license plate on July 19. Tensing reported that Dubose “took off” on him in his car and dragged him several feet, forcing the officer to fire one shot, which struck Dubose in the head and killed him.
The incident report features Kidd claiming he witnessed the encounter and supporting Tensing’s claim that he was dragged. Both officers can also be heard confirming they saw Tensing dragged in footage from their body cameras. But the prosecutor found both officers’ later accounts to investigators, which were markedly different from their original statements, more consistent with Tensing’s body camera footage and dropped the charges.
Tensing has been charged with murder and voluntary manslaughter and is pleading not guilty. The Detroit News is reporting that Tensing’s union has filed a grievance against the University of Cincinnati claiming the school violated his employment contract when they terminated him.
Tensing’s body camera video was released July 30 after news organizations sued the Hamilton County prosecutor under the Ohio open records law. The video can be seen below.
