Mayor: 'We're prepared' following UC cop indictment

Scroll to the bottom of the story to see the full video of former UCPD officer Ray Tensing shooting Samuel DuBose during the traffic stop.

Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley said he's confident police are ready for whatever happens this week as prosecutors released video of a fatal shooting by a University of Cincinnati police officer Wednesday.

Cranley said city officials were prepared for the video's release, as well as the grand jury's investigation, in two ways: They are making sure police have the resources they need to respond to any protests or unrest, and they are reaching out to community leaders to prevent trouble from getting started.

"I think we're prepared," Cranley said Tuesday. "Everyone has the right to peacefully protest, but we will not tolerate lawlessness."

Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters Wednesday announced UC Police Officer Ray Tensing will be charged murder and released video of the incident from the officer's body camera.

Tensing shot and killed Samuel DuBose, 43, during a traffic stop on July 19. The officer stopped DuBose at Rice and Valencia streets in Mount Auburn for having a missing front license plate.

Many questions remain unanswered. The police incident report said Tensing was "dragged," but there was no mention of the dragging in the police dispatch call.

Cranley and other city officials said Tuesday they have not seen the video. City Manager Harry Black said Monday he has been briefed on what it shows.

"My reaction is that it is not a good situation," Black said. "Someone has died that did not necessarily need to die."

Cranley said he's optimistic the response to the video and grand jury's decision to indict will be civil. He said the city has changed since 2001, when the streets erupted in days of violence after a Cincinnati police officer shot and killed an African-American man in Over-the-Rhine.

He said the relationship between police and the community they serve is far better today than in 2001 and City Hall has open lines of communication with activists, ministers and others whose opinions carry weight in the city's neighborhoods.

"These are personal friends of mine," Cranley said. "We're staying in constant communication."

He said he's also scheduled a private meeting with DuBose's family members, who buried him Tuesday. "I want to express my condolences," Cranley said.

The mayor said another significant difference between this shooting and the one in 2001 is that this one didn't involve a Cincinnati police officer. That shooting led to sweeping police reforms and a "collaborative agreement" between community leaders and the city about the future of policing in Cincinnati.

"This is not the Cincinnati Police Department. It's UC," Cranley said. "They will have to face the kind of questions we faced back then."

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