Trial of former campus cop delayed again in Ohio
CINCINNATI (AP) — A judge Tuesday gave both sides more time before setting a trial date for a University of Cincinnati police officer charged with murder, frustrating the mother of the black motorist he shot.
Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Megan Shanahan scheduled another pretrial hearing Feb. 11 in the case of Ray Tensing, after his attorney and prosecutors said they would exchange expert witness reports and other potential evidence by Jan. 29.
Tensing, then 25, was indicted on murder and voluntary manslaughter charges in the July 19 shooting of Samuel DuBose, 43, after pulling him over near campus for a missing front license plate.
FILE - IN this Tuesday, July 28, 2015 file photo, Audrey DuBose is interviewed by the media after funeral services for her son Samuel DuBose at the Church of the Living God in Cincinnati. On Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2015, Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Megan Shanahan gave both sides more time for expert witness reports and other potential evidence they're to exchange before she sets a trial date for Ray Tensing. Tensing is charged with murder and voluntary manslaughter in the July 19 shooting of Samuel DuBose. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)
Tensing, who is white, has pleaded not guilty and was released under $1 million bond. He wasn't in court Tuesday; DuBose's mother was among courtroom spectators.
"I just want to know how long this is going to go on," Audrey DuBose said after the brief hearing. "This man (Tensing) is out; on bond. My son is not free; why is this man free?"
Attorney Stewart Mathews has said Tensing feared being dragged under the car as DuBose tried to drive away. Mathews has requested that the trial be moved out of Hamilton County.
The university fired Tensing soon after his indictment and has restructured its public safety leadership.
The fatal shooting of DuBose came amid increased attention nationally to how police treat blacks.
Authorities haven't focused on race as a factor in this case, but the University of Cincinnati's police chief expressed alarm at a Cincinnati Enquirer report that showed a surge in citations against black motorists and pedestrians in the months before the fatal shooting. The newspaper said Tensing stopped and cited minority drivers at higher rates than other officers did.
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FILE - In this Thursday, July 30, 2015 file photo, former University of Cincinnati police officer Ray Tensing appears at Hamilton County Courthouse for his arraignment in the shooting death of motorist Samuel DuBose, in Cincinnati. A judge has given both sides more time for expert witness reports and other potential evidence they¿re to exchange before she sets a trial date for Tensing, who is charged with murder. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)
