Samuel Dubose: Cincinnati Police Officer Shoots Unarmed Man To Death During Traffic Stop

The Cincinnati police are investigating a fatal shooting incident in the city during a traffic stop. According to CNN, the incident happened after a confrontation during what was supposed to be a routine traffic stop. Officials have identified the dead man as 43-year-old Samuel Dubose. Initial reports say that the fatal shooting happened when a Cincinnati University police officer named Ray Tensing stopped Samuel Dubose who was driving a car without a front license plate.

According to a Local 12 report, the incident happened at around 6:30 p.m., local time. It started when officer Tensing spotted Dubose driving in a vehicle that had the front license plate missing. He asked Dubose to pull over. However, he refused to comply and went on to drive a mile further down the road before finally stopping the vehicle. Once the car was stopped the officer approached Samuel and asked for his driver’s license. Dubose again refused to comply and instead, handed over a bottle of alcohol to the officer. It was after this that officer Tensing asked Samuel to get out of the vehicle. Following this, a struggle between the two men ensued. Cincinnati Police Lt. Col James Whalen described the incident to reporters.

“There was a struggle at the door with Mr. Dubose in the vehicle and the officer outside the vehicle, and the vehicle sped away,”

With officer Tensing still holding on to the car, he used his weapon and fired a single shot at Samuel which hit him in the head. The officer fell to the ground as he fired the fatal shot. He bruised his legs and tore his uniform in the process. It was later discovered that Samuel Dubose was not in possession of a weapon. An investigation on Samuel Dubose’s background revealed that he had more than 60 arrests in his name. He is also reportedly father to 13 children. Samuel’s mother, however, has defended her son and said that Samuel was “full of love” and that he was not a violent person.

“Know that my son was not a violent person,” she said. “My son… he got stopped a lot but he never tried to fight.”

Dubose’s son, Samuel, said he was planning to watch a movie with his father on the day he died.

“He was coming home that night and we had a projector so we were going to watch a movie on it but we didn’t get to do that… because he died.”

Officer Ray Tensing reportedly has five years of experience with law enforcement and has been working for the University of Cincinnati Police for over a year. The officer was wearing a body camera during the time of the incident. Police are also analyzing surveillance footage from a nearby building.

The killing of Samuel Dubose, a black individual by a white police officer, is also being given a racial tinge. Meanwhile, a memorial was set up on the site where Dubose died on Sunday by his friends and family.

[Images Via CNN]