When Officer Ray Tensing’s body cam footage was released today, it was difficult to make out everything in the video, so I transcribed the verbal exchange between Tensing and Sam Dubose.
What isn’t difficult to discern is that Tensing killed an innocent, unarmed man for seemingly no reason — and the Hamilton County grand jury agreed, returning a murder indictment against Tensing earlier today.
Read the following exchange between a white University of Cincinnati police officer Tensing and unarmed black motorist Sam DuBose during a routine traffic stop on July 19th about a front license tag. The incident started out calmly, quickly escalated and ended up with Dubose being shot in the face as he tried to keep his car door shut (and Tensing trying to cover it up).
Here’s the video transcript of what happened:
OFFICER RAY TENSING: Hey, how’s it going man?
SAM DUBOSE: Hey, how’s it going?
OFFICER TENSING: Good. Officer Tensing. UC Police. You have a license on you?
DUBOSE: Yeah, what happened? What’s the problem?
OFFICER TENSING: Is this your car?
DUBOSE: Yeah.
OFFICER TENSING: It’s coming back to a female actually
DUBOSE: It’s my wife. Her name is ——-
OFFICER TENSING: Okay, you don’t have a front license plate on your car.
DUBOSE: That’s in my glove box. I have it.
OFFICER TENSING: Oh, okay. That’s actually-that’s got to go where the front plate is supposed to go. You don’t have to reach for it. It’s okay. You have your license on you?
DUBOSE: Yeah. (reaches around his pants)
OFFICER TENSING: What’s that bottle on the floor there?
DUBOSE: Oh, that’s a bottle of (unintelligible)
OFFICER TENSING: A bottle of what?
DUBOSE: A bottle of (unintelligible-Officer Tensing holds up
a bottle of gin)
OFFICER TENSING: Okay, do you have your license on you? (Dubose searches around his car.) Okay, do you know where your license is at, or what?
DUBOSE: I’ve got my (unintelligible)
OFFICER TENSING: Okay, I’m going to ask you again. Do you have your license on you?
DUBOSE: I have a license. You can run my name
OFFICER TENSING: So do you not have your license on you? I’m asking you a direct question. Do you have your license on you?
DUBOSE: Thouaht I did-whv did vou pull me over?
OFFICER TENSING: Again your front tag
DUBOSE: But it’s not illegal to not have a front tag.
OFFICER TENSING Okay. Actually it is. I’m going to ask you again: Do
you have a license on you?
DUBOSE: I have a license, you can run my name.
OFFICER TENSING Okay, is that not on you then?
DUBOSE: I don’t think I have it on me.
OFFICER TENSING Be straight up with me. Are you suspended?
DUBOSE: No I’m not suspended.
OFFICER TENSING Then why don’t you have your license on you?
DUBOSE: I just don’t. I’m sorry (unintelligible). I’m just going to go to my house.
OFFICER TENSING Okay, where do you stay at? Down here?
DUBOSE: Right around the (unintelligible).
OFFICER TENSING Okay, well, as far as I can figure out if you have a license or not, go ahead and take your seatbelt off.
(Tensing reaches for the car door.)
DUBOSE: I ain’t even do nothing (Dubose pulls the door back closed.)
OFFICER TENSING Go ahead and take your seat belt off. STOP. STOP. (Tensing draws his gun and fires once and falls to the ground. Dubose’s car can be seen rolling away out of frame).
Here’s the source of the transcript. Officer Tensing wrote in his official report that he only discharged his gun after he was dragged by Dubose’s vehicle which was not supported by the body cam video.
This was the response from Audrey Dubose, Sam’s mother:
“I trust God, and I knew it was going to be alright. I knew that if this man [Tensing] went free, and nothing was done to him, it was because he was really a righteous man and he didn’t do nothing. But I knew that my son was a righteous man. I knew that my son had the same spirit that dwells in me, dwell in him. That’s how he was fed. So, if my son is righteous and he get killed, somebody had to be wicked here.”
