Does the DuBose Shooting Video Support Officer Tensing’s Account?

 

DuBoseWhen I first saw the body cam video of then-University of Cincinnati Police Officer Ray Tensing shooting motorist Sam Dubose, I was taken aback. It made no sense for a relatively friendly, even jovial, conversation to devolve so quickly into a brutal shooting. Even after covering policing issues and violent crime for two decades, it was shocking. But something about it did not seem right.

It started with prosecutor Joe Deters’ statement that there was “no threat” to Tensing from DuBose. Yet it was obvious DuBose had pulled away from Tensing and started his car. A lethal threat, justifying deadly force? Perhaps not. But certainly he was an actively resisting suspect.

In fact, according to Deters and other self-appointed experts like the New York TimesCharles M. Blow, the video proves that Tensing’s account was a lie. Here is Blow’s expert analysis:

“Officer Tensing stated that he almost was run over by the driver of the Honda Accord and was forced to shoot the driver with his duty weapon.” [The report] continues: “Officer Tensing stated that he fired a single shot. Officer Tensing repeated that he was being dragged by the vehicle and had to fire his weapon.”

The video proves that none of that happened. To watch that video is to be witness to an execution.

But something was just not right. There was too much motion, too much commotion for a cold-blooded murder. And Tensing clearly ended up on the ground after the shooting while DuBose clearly drove off.

The critical issue, of course, is: why did Tensing shoot DuBose if DuBose was no threat? Anger? Misperception? Or something else?

Then the blog Legal Insurrection posted a couple of screen grabs and a slow-motion version that had glimpses of Tensing being seemingly pushed away from the vehicle behind DuBose’ car. That did not fit with “no threat.” While I couldn’t say Tensing’s account was exactly right, it seemed inaccurate to say “none of that happened.”

So, I looked at the video myself and found the evidence that something happened to be extremely compelling. And that something may have been Officer Ray Tensing defending his life out of necessity.

Taking a second-by-second look, the entire violent portion of the incident took no more than 4 seconds. At 1:50 of the video Tensing asks DuBose to step out. At 1:52, DuBose pulls his door closed and starts his car. At 1:53, Tensing shouts “Stop!” and reaches in towards the ignition. At 1:54 he shouts “Stop!’ again, more emphatically, his arm fully in the car. At 1:55, Tensing’s weapon suddenly swings into view and the shot is fired. At 1:56, Tensing’s face is seen hitting the ground.

But, here’s the thing; At 1:56, Tensing is at approximately 20 feet further down the road then he was at 1:54.

Looking at landmarks in the video and Google Street View imagery, I put together the following this Youtube video that clearly shows Tensing moved 20 feet in one-two seconds (7-13 mph), from a standing start — and not in the direction he was facing — while simultaneously falling to the ground. And firing a gun shot. How did that happen?

The key images are as follows. At 1:46, we get the last look at the overall environment. DuBose is parked, with his car off, in front of a home facing Southbound on Rice Street, at the corner of Thill Street. The position of the car relative to certain land marks is obvious, most notably the fence along the driveway of the house and the SUV in the driveway.

Slide3

Position where the incident begins.

At 1:53, the car is started by DuBose. Tensing’s arm is visibly in the car. But, notably, in the bottom of the passenger window you can still see the SUV’s tires. The car has not moved (and therefore neither has Tensing).

Slide5

At 1:56, exactly one second after the shooting, Tensing is in the street, and a car opposite from where DuBose’s had been visible in the back of the image:

Slide8

The camera is now facing away from where DuBose’s car had been.

This is critical. Because within two seconds, Tensing rolls over and we see a crucial landmark adjacent to the car – a street sign post.

Slide9

Tensing himself is now facing away from where DuBose’s car had been.

Where was that sign post?

Down the street, according to Google Street View. I gauged it as 18-20 feet based on the steps of another officer running in the video, but it’s at least 15 feet according to Google Earth. When Tensing stands and turns around, a pothole in the street (circled in green below) is clearly visible, and he is now clearly on the south side of the hedge along the south edge of the driveway.

Slide11

The interaction began at the solid orange line toward the bottom right and ended near the three orange lines near the middle.

If the DA’s account is to be believed, Tensing lied about being dragged and faced no threat of such from DuBose’s car. Were that true, at 1:55 DuBose was parked in front of the house and — one second later — Tensing had managed to launch himself 18 feet down the roads from a standing start, while falling, more than 90 degrees from the direction he was facing.

It would also mean that — after being shot in the brain — DuBose put his car in gear and drove off.

It seems more plausible to me that at 1:54 DuBose put the car in gear and started forward with Tensing’s arm still inside. The 1:54 image is also notable in that the body camera has plunged toward the street, the image capturing the top of the door upholstery and lock, consistent with Tensing having lost his footing. At 1:55, Tensing, still with his left arm inside the car, now being dragged along, raises his gun and fires one round at the suspect who refused his order to stop (image at the video, I will spare the squeamish that detail here). That seems all the more plausible in that the blurry, shaken image seems (I emphasize seems) to show the staircase of the house moving back into the distance (or, more accurately, the car moving away from it).

Then, at 1:56, Tensing hits the ground 15-20 feet away, dragged — logic would indicate — that far in just over a second, maybe two.

Is that a lethal threat? That’s for a jury to decide.

But did Ray Tensing lie about being dragged by the car? The video seems to offer an emphatic “no.”

We are about to experience a tedious dissection of the last fractional seconds of Sam DuBose’s life and Ray Tensing’s career (and perhaps freedom), venturing ever deeper into shades of grey.

One must wonder how deep into the grey Cincinnati’s cops will want to dive, knowing DA Joe Deters won’t even bother looking at the tape. One can only hope Mr. Blow will take the time to look at mine.

Published in Domestic Policy, Law, Policing
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  1. Robert C. J. Parry Member
    Robert C. J. Parry
    @RobertCJParry

    In regards to the discussion about the propriety and actual risk Tensing was in, I think the question comes down to this image, which is the last before the gun begins swinging into view.

    Tensing’s hand appears to be grasping DuBose seat belt.  Is he trying to somehow gain control of DuBose and/or stop him, or is he grasping to prevent falling under the car?Tensing Sequence5 - hand on belt

    Note that the camera (chest level) is right on the lip of the door.  I think we can agree that means he was either crouching, kneeling or had his legs out from under him.

    You can be fairly certain what the defense will say.

    • #31
  2. Robert C. J. Parry Member
    Robert C. J. Parry
    @RobertCJParry

    JimGoneWild:Thanks. I kind of noticed the same thing, about the movement of the background, that is. Can you post 1:54?

    The best way to view the video for such detail is to slow-down a slow-motion version.

    One is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwvkoKcAC-w

    If you click the settings “cog” in the bottom right, you can set the speed to .25 and watch it at an even slower rate.  However, the time stamps do not match to what I have posted. The gun swings into view at about 0:11 of this version, so 1:54 is roughly at 0:07.

    • #32
  3. iWe Coolidge
    iWe
    @iWe

    When falling, people do all kinds of things. Grab for whatever is there, for example.

    Pulling out a gun from a theoretically-clipped holster, and pulling the trigger? Doesn’t seem that instinctive. In my limited experience in fast-motion decision-making, the decision is always made in advance: you align your options and have them ready to go. That way, when A happens, you have B ready.

    Which means Tensing had it in mind to shoot before he did.

    That is not necessarily wrong. Shooting is an option – in the event, for example, that the driver had pulled a weapon.

    But I don’t think his grabbing motion makes much difference either way. Once he reached inside the car, Tensing’s responses to different actions were preprogrammed.

    • #33
  4. CuriousKevmo Inactive
    CuriousKevmo
    @CuriousKevmo

    At this point, I don’t know why any white person would start/stay in law enforcement.  I don’t know if Tensing screwed up or not but it seems to me that white cops are now guilty until proven innocent.

    • #34
  5. Goldgeller Member
    Goldgeller
    @Goldgeller

    I’m happy to read this thread. I have very mixed opinions and feelings that run contrary to my opinions! In any case, I saw the argument on /pol/ some days ago but it is a mistake to discuss anything with those racists.  But it just seems watching the video, that the car couldn’t have been moving that fast to get to where tensing would need to shoot rather than just back away. The car certainly is in motion for a split second before Tensing shoots, and Tensing’s hand is in the car while the car is in motion. Was shooting the appropriate response? Easy for me to say, I know I know. But it doesn’t seem at all that shooting was the appropriate response. It seems he had other options to get out of that situation. I mean, the video doesn’t at all suggest any great acceleration on the car until DuBose is shot in the head.

    I don’t know much at all about the laws here… so let me just guess– the difficulty in determining whether the Tensing could’ve reasonably feared for his life that Tensing will be acquitted for murder. (I understand from the Branca’s Legal Insurrection post that the jury will be asked to put themselves in his shows.) I’m guessing he’ll get hit on some other charge though.

    The whole situation seems so unnecessary.

    • #35
  6. Casey from Ohio Inactive
    Casey from Ohio
    @CaseyfromOhio

    This is my town so I am glad to see some dispassionate discourse from outside the area.  Some thoughts from a local, somewhat on topic with this rather elegant video analysis and some outside that:

    Whether Off. Tensing felt threatened or not, it seems obvious he was poorly trained to handle this situation.  There are also very real questions, in my mind, why a University of Cincinnati cop (carrying a gun) escalated a traffic stop for having no front license plate (not an offense in the university’s purview) to this level.  This happened on the very edge of university property, about a half block from a residential area that is within the city limits.

    Joe Deters, the prosecuting attorney, has no verbal filters.  He was angry at what he saw as a tragic end to the situation, but his outburst could very well have poisoned the jury pool.  I also question the charge of murder rather than first degree manslaughter, due to intent.

    Mr. Dubose’s family has acted with extreme grace, even to the extent of telling the #BlackLivesMatter protesters to disperse.  We will have to see what happens if a murder verdict is not determined by a jury.

    • #36
  7. Goldgeller Member
    Goldgeller
    @Goldgeller

    Casey from Ohio:This is my town so I am glad to see some dispassionate discourse from outside the area….

    …There are also very real questions, in my mind, why a University of Cincinnati cop (carrying a gun) escalated a traffic stop for having no front license plate (not an offense in the university’s purview) to this level….

    Joe Deters, the prosecuting attorney, has no verbal filters. He was angry at what he saw as a tragic end to the situation, but his outburst could very well have poisoned the jury pool. I also question the charge of murder rather than first degree manslaughter, due to intent.

    Mr. Dubose’s family has acted with extreme grace, even to the extent of telling the #BlackLivesMatter protesters to disperse. We will have to see what happens if a murder verdict is not determined by a jury.

    Think there might be riots?

    Also… yeah, these traffic stops… I’d say chaning police behavior in conflicts would be difficult, why not start repealing a lot of these traffic laws and reduce police contacts w/people that way? Oh yeah… the towns want revenue! It’s a shame.

    Yeah, I can see the prosecutor’s statements being way overboard, as well as the murder charge being a bit too high. And agree with you that the family has “acted with extreme grace” as you say.

    • #37
  8. Tom Meyer, Ed. Member
    Tom Meyer, Ed.
    @tommeyer

    Casey from Ohio: Whether Off. Tensing felt threatened or not, it seems obvious he was poorly trained to handle this situation.  There are also very real questions, in my mind, why a University of Cincinnati cop (carrying a gun) escalated a traffic stop for having no front license plate (not an offense in the university’s purview) to this level.

    I didn’t see Tensing escalate things at all until the fatal moment. Did I miss something, or misunderstand?

    • #38
  9. Arizona Patriot Member
    Arizona Patriot
    @ArizonaPatriot

    Casey from Ohio:There are also very real questions, in my mind, why a University of Cincinnati cop (carrying a gun) escalated a traffic stop for having no front license plate (not an offense in the university’s purview) to this level. This happened on the very edge of university property, about a half block from a residential area that is within the city limits.

    I don’t know whether the traffic stop was “in the university’s purview.”  There is an obvious reason to stop a vehicle having only one license plate in a jurisdiction that requires two — having only one license plate suggests that the vehicle may be stolen.

    I’m a bit confused about what you mean when you say the the officer “escalated a traffic stop . . . to this level.”  Right up until the unexpected gunshot, it appears to me that the driver was escalating the situation.  It appears that the traffic stop was legitimate, and the driver was clearly in the wrong to ignore the officer’s instructions, start the car, and get ready to drive away.  I don’t know Ohio law in particular, but I’d expect that the actions of the driver were criminal (resisting arrest and/or flight).

    Don’t get me wrong — nothing that I’ve seen or heard about the driver’s actions justifies this shooting.

    • #39
  10. JimGoneWild Coolidge
    JimGoneWild
    @JimGoneWild

    Robert C. J. Parry: Tensing’s hand appears to be grasping DuBose seat belt.  Is he trying to somehow gain control of DuBose and/or stop him, or is he grasping to prevent falling under the car?

    Robert, I would guess it transitioned from trying to gain control to prevent falling under the car.

    Thanks for your work on this. I hope a news/media outfit picks this up and reviews it.

    Good work.

    • #40
  11. Robert McReynolds Member
    Robert McReynolds
    @

    Why was the suspect pulled over to begin with?  You can’t determine suspended license by driving by someone?  Is that something that can be pulled up by running the license plate?  I don’t know these things because I am not a cop.

    • #41
  12. Casey from Ohio Inactive
    Casey from Ohio
    @CaseyfromOhio

    To Goldgeller: there was going to be little revenue involved in this, he wasn’t a city cop.   And riots?  We were almost torn apart by riots after a shooting about 10 years ago and a reconciliation committee has worked hard on putting review strategies in place.  They’ve gained a lot of respect for their reasoned responses and I’m hoping we won’t go down that path again.  Even after Ferguson, there were very minor supporting protests here. But it’s definitely a fragile peace.

    To Tom Meyer: the escalation came when it became quite apparent Mr. Dubose was not going to produce a driver’s license and was not going to get out of the car.  Was the license offense so dire that Off. Tensing should try to open the car door, grab the seat belt and try to turn off the ignition?  Could, “If you don’t get out of the car I’m calling in/reporting this to the Cincinnati police”  or  even “stop the car!” worked?  I don’t know, I’m just contemplating.

    Judgment calls are just that, and sometimes they’re good and sometimes they’re poor.  I prefer that flexibility over the by-the-book, mandatory-sentencing, according-to-the-bylaws, “the computer says” mentality that pervades our social fabric now, but . . . bad judgment reaps consequences.  This is one of the bad times.

    • #42
  13. Goldgeller Member
    Goldgeller
    @Goldgeller

    @Casey from Ohio

    Yeah, I was asking about riots cause of 2001. I don’t want any. Just was curious. The overall point about revenues still stands, that’s one of the reasons the law itself is there. Whether or not any particular traffic stop gets revenue, I’d like to see a lot of these laws repealed.

    Agree with you about Tensing escalating. Why didn’t Tensing just say “wait here, don’t move I’m going to run your address and so on?” I don’t get the whole opening the door thing like Tensing did. It just seems like terrible policing and poor guidance to someone in your custody. I really don’t see how that was by the book behavior. It seems Tensing was just in his own little world. What did he think was going to happen when he tried to open Dubose’s door, given that Tensing sensed Dubose was uncooperative? It’s a separate issue from whether the shooting was lawful or not (I guess) but it is just weird.

    • #43
  14. JimGoneWild Coolidge
    JimGoneWild
    @JimGoneWild

    Robert McReynolds:Why was the suspect pulled over to begin with? You can’t determine suspended license by driving by someone? Is that something that can be pulled up by running the license plate? I don’t know these things because I am not a cop.

    He didn’t have a plate(s).

    • #44
  15. Tom Meyer, Ed. Member
    Tom Meyer, Ed.
    @tommeyer

    Goldgeller: Agree with you about Tensing escalating. Why didn’t Tensing just say “wait here, don’t move I’m going to run your address and so on?”

    Without an ID, what would he have to run? The plates on the car wouldn’t necessarily have told him anything about the driver.

    Goldgeller: It seems Tensing was just in his own little world. What did he think was going to happen when he tried to open Dubose’s door, given that Tensing sensed Dubose was uncooperative? It’s a separate issue from whether the shooting was lawful or not (I guess) but it is just weird.

    I’m usually on the other side of these things — and generally give normal citizens more leeway than the police — but Debose was being uncooperative. He also made a series of errors: driving without a front plate, driving without a license, having a bottle of liquor in the front (albeit, not opened) not answering the officer’s question about whether he had a license, attempting to flee … these are all very basic mistakes.

    Tensing may well have made the wrong call in shooting him dead — and may well have committed a crime — but it seems like Debose’s string of mistakes played an enormous role in his death.

    • #45
  16. Robert McReynolds Member
    Robert McReynolds
    @

    JimGoneWild:

    Robert McReynolds:Why was the suspect pulled over to begin with? You can’t determine suspended license by driving by someone? Is that something that can be pulled up by running the license plate? I don’t know these things because I am not a cop.

    He didn’t have a plate(s).

    Okay, I thought the CNN reporter said that the suspect was stopped over a suspended license.

    • #46
  17. Robert McReynolds Member
    Robert McReynolds
    @

    JimGoneWild:

    Robert McReynolds:Why was the suspect pulled over to begin with? You can’t determine suspended license by driving by someone? Is that something that can be pulled up by running the license plate? I don’t know these things because I am not a cop.

    He didn’t have a plate(s).

    Yes, right around 1:10 into the video the reporter says “suspended license.”  Now, like I said, I am not a cop, but I have always thought a “suspended license” pertained to a driver’s license and not license plates.  So if that is the case, I am going to ask again, what was the reason for the initial stop?

    • #47
  18. Tom Meyer, Ed. Member
    Tom Meyer, Ed.
    @tommeyer

    Going off the youtube video, Tensing asks Debose about his missing front license plate at around 00:17. Debose then opens the glove compartment to show that it’s there, and Tensing responds that it needs to be on the front of the car.

    About a minute later, Debose asks why he was pulled over and Tensing responds “Again, the front tag.”

    • #48
  19. iWe Coolidge
    iWe
    @iWe

    The reporter, it seems, got it wrong. The actual footage showed Tensing saying it was a missing  front license plate.

    • #49
  20. Robert C. J. Parry Member
    Robert C. J. Parry
    @RobertCJParry

    Could, “If you don’t get out of the car I’m calling in/reporting this to the Cincinnati police” or even “stop the car!” worked? I don’t know, I’m just contemplating.

    You mean shouting “Stop!”…. “STOP!” didn’t get the point across?  Of course, I’m sure Mr. DuBose had no idea that you’re not supposed to drive off when the police stop you.

    It’s kinda optional as I understand it.

    • #50
  21. Casey from Ohio Inactive
    Casey from Ohio
    @CaseyfromOhio

    As it happens, by sheer coincidence I start (petit) jury duty on Monday.  Should be interesting around the courthouse.

    • #51
  22. JimGoneWild Coolidge
    JimGoneWild
    @JimGoneWild

    iWe:The reporter, it seems, got it wrong. The actual footage showed Tensing saying it was a missing front license plate.

    Correct.

    • #52
  23. Goldgeller Member
    Goldgeller
    @Goldgeller

    Tom Meyer, Ed.:

    Without an ID, what would he have to run?

    ….

    Tensing may well have made the wrong call in shooting him dead — and may well have committed a crime — but it seems like Debose’s string of mistakes played an enormous role in his death.

    What would he have run? I guess I’d assume you can check name and address to see if license are suspended. I could be wrong. If yes, cop should’ve explained and done that or just said “no that’s not possible.” I was just putting it out there. I’m not certain myself.

    Agreed that DuBose was seeming very suspicious, and attempting to flee was of course a terrible idea. What would make him think he could just drive off?! There is a tragedy on all sides of this. But I think Tensing’s actions were way out of measure. It just seems from the video he could’ve removed his hands from the car but instead he chose to shoot.

    @Robert Parry

    Seems to me by the time interval between Tensing yelling “stop stop” and the shot it really wouldn’t have mattered. A super short interval.  There was no way for DuBose to really comply. That is my problem with him shooting DuBose. Failing to comply isn’t a death sentence. It is hard to see how Tensing would think he was in danger.

    • #53
  24. Robert C. J. Parry Member
    Robert C. J. Parry
    @RobertCJParry

    @Goldgeller:

    If (I emphasize if) Tensing had one arm in the car, essentially up to his arm-pit on the door, his chest (and camera) at the level of the bottom of the window portal / top of the inner door, then he was crouched, kneeling or falling with his legs in front or behind him. The 1:54 images are consistent with this. A 1:56 image seems to show his foot in front of him (so toward the back of the car). Were he to let go, he would most certainly have fallen in or adjacent to the left-rear tire’s direction of travel. Tha’s clearly a danger.

    Now, if after he shouted “stop” twice, DuBose put the car in gear and/or pressed the gas pedal, his options for safely escaping would be minimal. And, that would, at minimum indicate DuBose disregard for Tending’s life, if not intent to harm him.

    • #54
  25. Ball Diamond Ball Member
    Ball Diamond Ball
    @BallDiamondBall

    Mr. DuBose decided to take his chances with escaping a police stop even at the risk of the officer’s safety.  That’s two redlines right there.  Officer Tensing got himself into where several yellow and red lines were so compressed that there was no way to intervene between them.  But DuBose was the (literal) driver of the situation (again, part of the problem).

    A major problem in America today is that there is a significant subculture that thinks it is okay to run from the police.  Most of America finds this unacceptable, not because of the manifest facts of these cases, but because of the trouble that ensues if this is deemed “okay”.

    • #55
  26. Doctor Robert Member
    Doctor Robert
    @DoctorRobert

    AldenPyle:The real scandal is the city of Cincinnati was allowing the “police”of a private institution to enforce traffic laws off campus and Officer Tensing and his colleagues were abusing that by hassling their neighbors over missing front tags.

    DuBose started to drive off at low speed. Tensing shot DuBose because he worried that DuBose might do something (accelerate to a high speed) that might lead Tensing to do something wildly reckless (to hold onto an accelerating car) which might have lead DuBose to do something potentially dangerous (continue driving fast with an officer hanging onto his car). To avoid the possibility of a possibility of a possibility of his life being potentially (but not probably) in danger, Tensing shot DuBose in the head. That’s murder.

    13.6 mph is damned fast when a car is pulling you.

    • #56
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