Mistrial declared for 2nd time in killing of black man by white officer

CINCINNATI- An Ohio judge declared a mistrial in the case of a white former police officer accused of murdering an unarmed black driver during a traffic stop on July 19,2015.

Ray Tensing, who fatally shot in the head of Samuel DuBose,43, was fired from his job and arrested after the shooting. He remains free on bail.

On Friday, Judge Leslie Ghiz declared a second mistrial in the murder case after jurors at the Hamilton County Common Pleas Court in Cincinnati said they were hopelessly deadlocked for a second time.

“At this time, this court is in a position and will have to, as a result of the jury being unable to reach a verdict, declare a mistrial in this case,” said the judge.

This is the second time a mistrial was declared when Audrey DuBose, Samuel DuBose’s mother, immediately demanded a retrial after the first mistrial in 2016 she called for peaceful protest.

“We are outraged that a second jury has now failed to convict Ray Tensing,” she said in a statement. “We demand another retrial.”

Tensing, 27, told investigators that he opened fire out of fear for his life. But the prosecutors said after the review of police body camera footage that Tensing was not in danger.

The NAACP of Cincinnati said they will demand justice. “The message that is being sent is, if you are black, all the police officer has to do is say they were in fear of their life and they get away with murder because the victim (is) black,” the local NAACP said in a statement.

Rev. Peterson Mingo, an activist and friend of the DuBose family said. “Right now, the family wants peace,” he told reporters. “The family wants reconciliation. They don’t want any violence. That’s not the way they want Sam remembered. They want him to be remembered as the generous, caring young man that he was — as a father and a credit to the community.”