Complaint filed against CPD sergeant who testified in Ray Tensing retrial

Local civil rights leaders Friday morning demanded a retrial for Ray Tensing and announced that they've filed a complaint with the Citizens Complaint Authority against Cincinnati Police Sgt. Shannon Heine.

Heine was the state's representative as the lead homicide investigator in the Tensing case, reads the complaint filed by civil rights attorney Al Gerhardstein. 

"She undermined the the prosecution case by testifying in response to a defense question that based on her experience, training and education she thought the shooting of Sam DuBose in July 2015 may have been justified," the complaint reads.

Iris Roley, a leader of Cincinnati Black United Front and board member of social activist group Amos Project, announced the complaint.

"This testimony clearly surprised the prosecution," Roley said.

Juries in the first two trials were unable to reach a verdict. Tensing, a former University of Cincinnati police officer, was charged with murder and voluntary manslaughter in the shooting death of unarmed black motorist Sam DuBose in July 2015.

The complaint authority reviews and rules on complaints of alleged misconduct against Cincinnati police officers. It was established in 2003 and grew out of the groundbreaking 2002 Collaborative Agreement, which changed how Cincinnati's police department does its job. A complaint against Heine was filed with the authority in 2012 for "lack of service," but it did not meet criteria for what the agency investigates. 

She was promoted from police specialist to sergeant on Sept. 4, 2015, less than two months after DuBose's death, and transferred from the homicide unit on Sept. 24, 2015.

On June 23, the day the second mistrial was declared, Cincinnati Police Chief Eliot Isaac said he was “concerned about a number of things that occurred during the trial, not only Sgt. Heine’s testimony, but also some of the comments made during the closing statement. The matter is under review."

On Friday afternoon, a police spokeswoman said Isaac's review is ongoing.

Friday morning, the group of civil rights leaders held a press conference outside of the office of Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters. Representatives came from the Black Lawyers Association of Cincinnati, the Cincinnati chapter of the NAACP, the Greater Cincinnati chapter of the National Action Network, Cincinnati Black United Front and the Urban League of Greater Southwestern Ohio.

The groups are "demanding 'justice for Sam DuBose,' by way of a new trial."

Deters has said he "may" announce next week his decision whether to retry Tensing

Donyetta Bailey, president of the Black Lawyers Association of Cincinnati, read an open letter to Deters. The letter criticizes Judge Leslie Ghiz, who presided over the second trial, for not allowing in prosecution evidence that Tensing wore a Confederate flag T-shirt under his uniform the day he shot DuBose and that Tensing stopped more African-American drivers than any other UC officer.

The letter also states that Ghiz was biased towards the defense by allowing the admission of the marijuana found on DuBose's car.

"We will not accept that racial prejudice in this community is so deep that people would rather believe Tensing's lies, instead of what they can see with their own two eyes from the body camera footage," Bailey read from the prepared statement.

Tensing, she continued, "does not deserve the same honor and respect we give to our most brave men and women in law enforcement who perform their job with integrity because they treat all citizens equally and with dignity."

High-profile leaders in attendance were Robert Richardson Sr., Joe Mallory and Nicole Taylor of the NAACP, Chara Jackson of the Urban League, Bishop Bobby Hilton of the National Action Network and Dwight Patton and Roley of the Black United Front.

Patton, president of Black United Front, said that Tensing attorney Stew Mathews "put Sam DuBose on trial. Instead of putting Sam DuBose on trial, they need to put Ray Tensing on trial."

On Thursday, the influential Baptist Ministers Conference of Greater Cincinnati and Vicinity issued a statement also demanding a retrial for Tensing.

Cincinnati's Black Lives Matter group and affiliated organizations in the Countdown to Conviction Coalition have held several rallies and marches since the June 23 mistrial was declared by Judge Leslie Ghiz. The coalition has repeatedly called for a third trial for Tensing.