Trial for University Officer Who Killed Unarmed Black Man Revealed he Was Wearing Confederate Flag Shirt During Incident

On Thursday, Nov. 3, new video evidence from an interview conducted after the killing of Samuel DuBose during a 2015 traffic stop reveals that former University of Cincinnati police officer Ray Tensing detailing the shooting to investigators.

Tensing was charged with murder and voluntary manslaughter for the July 2015 shooting of the unarmed motorist. In the interview released Thursday per WLWT, the former cop recalls the details of the fatal incident.

“My arm’s still stuck at this point. I could not free it,” Tensing says in the clip. “At that point, I was thinking, ’Oh my gosh, I’m being dragged by this guy’s car. I don’t want to die today. I’m in fear of my life.’ At some point, my hand’s still stuck as I’m drawing my weapon out. I think, ’This guy’s actively trying to kill me right now. I don’t want to die today on this street.’”

He tells investigators that he had to take the fatal shot to save himself from being dragged by DuBose’s vehicle. “The only shot I could see that I could take to stop the threat was a head shot.”

Tensing also reveals that he gave DuBose instructions to the stop the vehicle, but according to him, the motorist did not heed his warning. “I told him, I believe twice, to stop the vehicle. Stop … He still just continued to accelerate. And that’s when I discharged one round. And I hit him in the head with that round,” Tensing said. “Again, I did that because I was in fear of my life. I was holding on for dear life.”

However, Forensic video analyst Grant Fredericks poked holes in Tensing’s testimony to investigators. According to WCPO, the initial bodycam footage was broken down into multiple millisecond-frames that showed that DuBose’s car never dragged Tensing. In fact, the vehicle did not move until Tensing fired a round into DuBose’s head.

In court Nov. 4, new testimonies reveal that the former cop wore a Confederate theme shirt during last year’s fatal traffic stop. On the front of the shirt there were the words : “Great Smoky Mountains, 1934” with the flag embossed over it. Officers are required to wear black t-shirts under their uniform according to testimony from officers David Lindenschmidt and Phillip Kidd.

Here is a better look at the shirt below:

Atlanta Black Star