Former cop charged in fatal traffic stop appears in court

Associated Press

CINCINNATI

A white former police officer charged with killing an unarmed black man during a traffic stop over a missing front license plate returned to court briefly Friday for a pretrial hearing.

Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Megan Shanahan met in chambers with attorneys for both sides to discuss jury selection and other issues in Ray Tensing’s case, scheduled for trial Oct. 25. Tensing, 26, has pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and voluntary manslaughter in the shooting of Sam DuBose.

Tensing pulled the 43-year-old DuBose over near the University of Cincinnati campus for a missing front license plate July 19, 2015.

Much of the trial is expected to revolve around bodycam video that showed the encounter that ended with Tensing shooting DuBose in the head. Tensing’s attorney, Stewart Mathews, has said his client feared being dragged under the car as DuBose tried to drive away.