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OPINION

Editorial: Grief, justice for Sam DuBose

Enquirer editorial board

The video of a Cincinnatian being shot by a University of Cincinnati police officer is sickening, heartbreaking and shocking.

Sickening because violent encounters that unfolded that Sunday evening in Mount Auburn should never unfold in this country.

Heartbreaking because of the significant labors so many have invested in to elevate police-community relations in our city and the potential risk of seeing that crumble.

And shocking because of the speed in which a simple question, “Where is your license?” became a bullet – a bullet that claimed a man, a father, a friend.

In the process, Sam DuBose became an inexplicable and tragic statistic.

We mourn today with DuBose’s family and our entire community. Our worst fears were confirmed by Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters’ release Wednesday of the body cam video showing UC Police Officer Ray Tensing fatally shooting DuBose during a routine, nonviolent traffic stop.

In a raw, emotional news conference, Deters pulled no punches in announcing murder charges against Tensing. His words echo the thoughts of so many in our city – including this editorial board – after seeing the video.

It was “the most asinine act I’ve ever seen a police officer make. It was totally unwarranted,” the veteran prosecutor said.

“It’s an absolute tragedy in the year 2015 that anyone would behave in this manner. It was senseless.”

Tragedy can divide a community, or it can become a source of strength.

This incident – and the national attention, scrutiny and potentially divisive elements that will follow – undoubtedly is a painful one. But if Cincinnati loses its hope and its pledge to bridge the differences that occasionally separate us, that would be the true tragedy.

We salute Deters for showing leadership in moving swiftly yet thoughtfully in a politically charged case involving a police officer. He quickly presented evidence to a grand jury, which handed down a rare murder indictment against a member of the law enforcement community.

Deters steadfastly refused to release the much-anticipated video from Tensing’s body cam during the violent encounter. We disagreed with that stance, but this board does respect Deters’ twin desires to keep Tensing from adjusting his story to match the video and to avoid a potentially explosive situation before today’s indictment was announced.

Police officers in general – and specifically Cincinnati officers – must not be blamed for the actions of one UC officer. But there are systemic questions that demand answers. Tensing’s actions that evening raise serious questions about the training and preparedness of UC police officers.

And as Deters said: “This doesn’t happen in the United States. It might happen in Afghanistan … but people do not get shot in a traffic stop unless they’re violent toward the police officer.”

DuBose was not.

For now, we praise a system that by our estimation has worked thus far: a swift investigation that yielded an appropriate charge.

We cannot go back and undo what occurred on July 19. But we can move forward in a constructive way, through grief, toward justice.