Press TV- Protest rallies have erupted outside a courthouse in the US state of Ohio after a judge declared a mistrial in the shooting death of an African American man by a white campus police officer of University of Cincinnati.
The protests on Saturday broke out as the 12 jurors in the case of the universitys police officer Roy Tensing, who shot Sam DuBose in the head during a traffic stop in July 2015, failed to reach a unanimous verdict prompting the judge to rule the case a mistrial.
Tensing was charged with murder for the killing of 43-year-old Sam DuBose during a precautionary traffic stop, which could have resulted in a life sentence. He could have also been jailed for up to 11 years in case of a voluntary manslaughter verdict.
Hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside the Hamilton County courthouse in the major city after the ruling. Black Lives Matter protesters then marched in the streets and briefly blocked streetcar line, chanting Hands Up, Dont Shoot! as well as No Justice, No peace!
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Protesters march through downtown Cincinnati, November 12, 2016. (Photo by AP)[/caption]The protesters further censured the outcome of the trial and accused the local justice system of being biased against minorities.
Explaining the trials outcome, Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters stated in a televised interview that, What we do know is that the jurywereleaning towards acquittal on the murder. They were leaning toward conviction on the voluntary manslaughter, but they just couldnt come to an agreement.
He then added that four of the 12 jurors believed Tensing was guilty of murder, and the other eight sought a manslaughter verdict.
More significantly, however, prosecutors also insisted that they were able to prove, by breaking down the bodycam footage shot-by-shot that DuBoses car only started moving 800 milliseconds before the gunshot by the police officer.
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An Ohio judge rules mistrial in the case involving the shooting death of Sam DuBose (R) by University of Cincinnati police officer Ray Tensing.[/caption]The video is the ultimate witness. It doesnt alter or change its story. It has no bias or prejudice. It consistently tells what it saw, whether its the first time or thousandth time,said Deters.
We thought we proved murder,added the prosecutor following the mistrial ruling, insisting that the defendant should have never been made a cop, and that the University of Cincinnati should not be overseeing its own police department.
Deters department now has until November 28 to file a new hearing, or drop the case. There will be pressure on the prosecutors to continue proceedings given that it is racially-charged.
