Former police officer to learn if he'll be tried 3rd time

CINCINNATI — Two juries have failed to agree on an outcome in the case against a University of Cincinnati police officer who killed an unarmed black man in July 2015.

On Tuesday, prosecutors will announce if Ray Tensing, fired from the university police department 10 days after the July 19, 2015, shooting when a grand jury indicted him, will be tried a third time after trial juries in June and November could not reach a verdict.

After this past month's mistrial, Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters initially said he would decide the week of July 10 on whether to pursue a third trial for Tensing, who had pulled over Sam DuBose, 43, for a missing front license plate.

The jury vote in the second trial was more favorable to Tensing. His lawyer, Stew Mathews, told The Enquirer that his understanding was the jury voted 8-4 to acquit on murder, 7-5 to acquit on voluntary manslaughter.

The final vote on the manslaughter count was nearly the opposite of how jurors in the first trial last year are believed to have voted. The November jury voted in 8-4 to convict on the manslaughter charge, Deters previously said.

► June 27:Will former Cincinnati police officer face 3rd trial?
► June 17:Convictions are rare for officers in police shootings

Civil-rights leaders and DuBose's family have demanded a third trial for Tensing, who faces charges of murder and voluntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of DuBose as he tried to drive away from a traffic stop in Cincinnati's Mount Auburn neighborhood.

Deters said he can't try Tensing on lesser charges because he has legally run out of time to do so.

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