Another Mistrial in Case of White Cop Who Fatally Shot Black Driver

Second jury deadlocks in Ray Tensing case
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jun 23, 2017 3:54 PM CDT
Another Mistrial in Case of White Cop Who Fatally Shot Black Driver
Former University of Cincinnati police officer Raymond Tensing listens as Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Leslie Ghiz tells the jury to continue deliberations after the jury said they are deadlocked during Tensing's trial on Friday, June 23, 2017 in Cincinnati.    (Cara Owsley)

A second mistrial was declared Friday in the case of a white University of Cincinnati officer who killed an unarmed black motorist during a traffic stop, the AP reports. It's the latest racially charged police shooting case to show the reluctance of US jurors to convict officers. Hamilton County Judge Leslie Ghiz declared a mistrial after more than 30 hours of jury deliberations over five days. The jurors had said earlier Friday that they were unable to reach a verdict in Officer Ray Tensing's trial, but Ghiz had sent them back to try again on the counts of murder and voluntary manslaughter. Instead, they sent her another note some three hours later, saying: "We are almost evenly split regarding our votes." The note said they didn't foresee reaching a unanimous verdict.

Tensing looked down, his hand on his face, as the judge announced the mistrial over the death of 43-year-old Sam DuBose, who was shot in the head while driving away from the traffic stop on July 19, 2015. Tensing and his family left quickly without comment. The first trial against the 27-year-old Tensing also ended in a mistrial after the jury deliberated 25 hours over four days in November without reaching a verdict. Prosecutors will have to decide whether to try Tensing for a third time. A spokeswoman for the county prosecutor, Joe Deters, said he won't comment until next week. The NAACP of Cincinnati blasted the hung jury result and said they will demand justice. Dozens of demonstrators were outside the courthouse with rain coming down Friday afternoon, some chanting: "Black lives matter!" (More Ray Tensing stories.)

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