Joe Deters: I'll personally prosecute Ray Tensing

Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters is so outraged over the death of Samuel DuBose that he will personally prosecute the case, he told The Enquirer Wednesday evening.

His passion was evident Wednesday, as he announced that University of Cincinnati police officer Ray Tensing had been charged with murder in the shooting of an unarmed man during a traffic stop.

"This is the most asinine act I've ever seen a police officer make," Deters said near the start of Wednesday's half-hour news conference. "It was senseless. It's just horrible."

Deters earned a bachelor's degree and law degree at UC. He said Tensing, who became a full-time officer at UC last year, "never should have been a police officer."

An angry Deters called the traffic stop that ended with the shooting but began on the basis of a missing front license plate, "a pretty chicken-crap stop."

Later, when asked how he would treat the police officer, the unequivocal Deters said, like "a murderer."

The pointed comments about the case were not surprising to people who have watched Deters during the nearly 20 years he has served as the county's elected prosecutor.

"Joe's very outspoken about what he believes and what he feels about cases," said veteran Cincinnati-based defense attorney Kelly Johnson. "That would not be unusual for Joe."

Social media posts Wednesday were largely in favor of Deters. "Joe Deters for president!" one Twitter user proclaimed. "Well done, Joe Deters," said another.

CNN analyst Sunny Hostin, a former federal prosecutor, commended Deters for acting so quickly. A grand jury was convened within 10 days of the shooting.

In addition to the murder charge, Tensing also faces a charge of voluntary manslaughter.

Johnson and others who looked at the case said the video from Tensing's body camera – which showed Tensing fire a single shot at DuBose after Dubose appeared to begin to drive away – was key to the murder charge.

A few years ago, Johnson said, "it would have been (Tensing's) word against ... the word of his fellow officers" or what the physical evidence showed.

Deters has never charged a police officer with murder in connection with an on-duty shooting.

"I am convinced that the reason they were able to charge (Tensing) with murder in this case," Johnson said, "was the fact that there's a body cam."

Deters rarely personally prosecutes cases, leaving that to his assistant prosecutors. But he does occasionally appear in court for high-profile cases, including serial killer Anthony Kirkland, who was sentenced to death in 2010.