An Ohio prosecutor said Tuesday he will again seek a murder conviction against a white former University of Cincinnati police officer, and wants to move the trial to find jurors who won’t be afraid or feel community pressure.
(FOX)- A judge declared a mistrial Nov. 12 in the Ray Tensing case, with jurors deadlocked after deliberating some 25 hours on charges of murder and voluntary manslaughter in the July 2015 shooting of Sam DuBose by the since-fired University of Cincinnati police officer during a traffic stop.
Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters said he will retry Tensing on both counts, but said the murder charge is appropriate.
“It’s my belief that Sam DuBose was murdered. Period,” Deters said.
Tensing’s attorney, Stewart Mathews, has asked the judge to acquit Tensing in the aftermath of the mistrial and wasn’t surprised by Deters’ decision on retrying him.
Mathews said he didn’t have an immediate position on the moving the trial out of the Cincinnati area, but would lean against it for various reasons including logistical and financial hardship.
“I don’t think a change of venue is going to have a huge impact on the outcome of this case,” Mathews said.