No charges against other officers in Cincinnati shooting
CINCINNATI — Two officers who arrived moments after former University of Cincinnati Officer Ray Tensing fatally shot a man during a traffic stop won’t face charges for lying about what they saw.
A Hamilton County grand jury declined Friday to charge Phillip Kidd or David Lindenschmidt after investigating statements they made at the scene of the shooting July 19. The officers have been suspended with pay pending the outcome of a separate investigation by the university.
The decision not to charge the two officers was made by the same grand jury that indicted Tensing on a murder charge earlier this week for the shooting death of Samuel DuBose.
Video from the officers’ body cameras indicates they arrived moments after the shooting, because it shows Tensing getting up from the ground and chasing DuBose’s car as it rolls away. By then, DuBose already had been fatally wounded.
In the video, Kidd is heard corroborating Tensing’s claim that he fired the shot because he was being dragged by DuBose’s car, a claim disputed by prosecutors and by DuBose’s own body camera video.
“Yeah, I saw that,” Kidd said in the video. He later answered “yes” when another officer asked Kidd if he saw Tensing being dragged. An incident report written by Supervisor Eric Weibel also suggested one of the officers saw the car drag Tensing.
Prosecutors, however, say both officers later told investigators they did not see the incident and did not see Tensing being dragged. They said both officers cooperated with authorities and at no point attempted to conceal evidence or misrepresent what happened that day.
“These officers were totally cooperative in the investigation and consistent in their statements,” Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters said. “There was some confusion over the way the initial incident report was drafted, but that was not a sworn statement by the officers and merely a short summary of information.”
DuBose’s family had asked prosecutors to investigate the other officers, and Deters told them he would. But he said Friday he found no evidence to support a criminal charge, such as obstructing justice.
“These officers have been truthful and honest about what happened and no charges are warranted,” Deters said.
Tensing shot and killed DuBose during a traffic stop for not having a front license plate. A video recording from Tensing’s body camera showed the officer spoke to DuBose for about two minutes, mostly about whether he had his driver’s license with him.
When Tensing started to open the car door and asked DuBose to take off his seatbelt, DuBose started his car. At that point, Tensing reached into the car with his left hand and pointed his gun at DuBose with his right.
He fired the shot seconds later.
Tensing is out of jail on bond, awaiting trial. The other two officers remain suspended from UC pending the outcome of the university’s investigation.