Former University of Cincinnati police officer Ray Tensing’s murder trial in the shooting death of Sam DuBose is set to start today with jury selection, a case that has been described as one of the biggest in Hamilton County history, reports the Cincinnati Enquirer. On July 19, 2015, Tensing was patrolling off-campus. He pulled over DuBose because his car didn’t have a front license plate, which is required under Ohio law. Tensing walked to the driver’s side window and spoke to DuBose for about a minute, asking for a driver’s license and questioning whether it was suspended.
Tensing would ask DuBose to take off his seat belt and then tried to open the door. DuBose would immediately pull it shut, saying, “I didn’t even do nothing.” As DuBose started the car, Tensing reached into it with one hand and said, “Stop!” Tensing then shot DuBose in the head. The entire incident and the aftermath was captured on Tensing’s body camera and the body cameras of two fellow officers. The one element not visible is when Tensing pulled his gun. Tensing’s attorney, Stew Mathews, has said that Tensing fired the single gunshot because he feared for his life. Tensing told fellow officers, “I thought I was gonna get run over. I was trying to stop him.” Legal experts say Tensing’s statements on the videos have locked him into a self-defense claim.