CINCINNATI -- Forensic video analyst Grant Fredericks will continue his testimony Tuesday in the retrial of former University of Cincinnati police officer Ray Tensing, transitioning from the moments before Tensing shot and killed motorist Sam DuBose to the shooting itself.
Fredericks' testimony Monday was largely given to a point-by-point refutation of Tensing's claim that he shot DuBose "in fear for his life." Tensing said his arm was caught in DuBose's car when DuBose accelerated and attempted to drive away. Tensing said he fired the shot that killed DuBose because he had been dragged and feared for his life.
Fredericks argued, as he had in Tensing's first trial, that the video clearly showed Tensing had not been dragged, nor had his arm been caught anywhere inside DuBose's car.
Fredericks is expected to testify again Tuesday that Tensing fired his gun before DuBose's car moved, refuting the former officer's self-defense claim.
After Fredericks' testimony, use of force expert Officer Scott Haug and Hamilton Township Police Chief Scott Hughes will take the stand to testify about police protocol and best practices in situations such as the one that led to DuBose's death.
In the first trial, Haug said Tensing should never have reached into DuBose's car, characterized his actions as irresponsible and "unjustified" and backed Fredericks' assertion that Tensing had not been dragged.
Finally, Chief Hughes, who taught Tensing in a December 2014 class called Tactics and Traffic, will testify about the way officers are instructed to safely interact with vehicles. One of the biggest bullet points highlighted in his deposition during the first trial: "NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER reach into a vehicle."
Hughes conceded in the first trial that officers sometimes make mistakes and that every situation in police work is unique, but continued to insist that officers are instructed never to reach into vehicles.
All three of these witnesses testified or gave depositions in Tensing's first trial, and all three supported the prosecution's assertion that Tensing's actions were unjustified. Nevertheless, the first trial ended with the jury unable to reach a verdict on either charge against Tensing -- murder or voluntary manslaughter -- and a mistrial.
For complete trial coverage, visit wcpo.com/TensingTrial
