Cops who shoot Black men will be ignored less and less and it's about time. Thanks to a family's perseverance and the body camera that captured the evidence, a family receives compensation for their tragic loss.
On July 19, 2015, exactly six months ago today, Officer Ray Tensing, a University of Cincinnati police officer, shot and killed Sam DuBose, a 43 year old man and father of twelve. He was stopped for not having a front license plate, and the situation escalated to a fatal conclusion, all documented by body camera.
Tensing was charged with voluntary manslaughter. His trial was originally slated to begin in November of 2015, but has been delayed, the submission date for evidence is due January 29, 2016.
reached a $5.3 million settlement with the school, the family and university announced Monday.
The deal gives the family of Samuel DuBose $4.85 million and promises free undergraduate tuition for his 12 children who range in age from 4 to 23.
The educational component of the settlement is valued at approximately $500,000.
Additionally, UC will erect a memorial to DuBose on campus and UC President Santa Ono will also issue an apology to the family for the loss of DuBose.
Mark O'Mara, a civil rights attorney representing DuBose's family, said the family hopes the tragedy can be a springboard to improving relations between police and the community so it doesn't happen again.
"We have to have a discourse on how do we make our cops better cops," O'Mara said. "And the flipside to that coin is, we have to figure out how to better interact with cops."
It would be nice if Black motorists were treated with the same consideration as White drivers. Unfortunately, this is nothing new if you are a Black American. Racism is a well-documented problem which is rampant in the law enforcement community. Body cameras will help alleviate this injustice, let's hope.
