Cincy leaders, civil-rights groups meet before ex-cop’s trial

CINCINNATI (AP) — City officials in Cincinnati are meeting with civil-rights groups and other community leaders ahead of the murder trial of a white former police officer charged with killing an unarmed black man during a traffic stop.

Jury selection begins Tuesday for 26-year-old Ray Tensing’s trial in Hamilton County. The fired University of Cincinnati officer has pleaded not guilty to murder and voluntary manslaughter charges in the shooting of 43-year-old Sam DuBose last year.

City Manager Harry Black says there are talks with the Cincinnati NAACP, the local National Action Network affiliate, clergy and other officials. The city also has reached out to Black Lives Matter leaders.

Black tells The Cincinnati Enquirer that officials want “to establish a sense of calm in the city.”

Black Lives Matter plans a Saturday rally.