Samuel Dubose: No number plate, shot in the head

When will innocent unarmed Black women, men and children stop being shot dead for simply being Black?

America braces itself for another backlash after a University police officer Ray Tensing dealt with Samuel Dubose in a most minor driving infraction, described by the Chief Prosecutor as a ‘pretty chicken-crap stop’, by shooting the man in the head, killing him at close range.

The officer then engages in catalogue of lies to his superiors stating that he feared he was going to be run over by Dubose - so he shot him.

Tensing had argued that he was “dragged” by Dubose’s vehicle after the two entered into a physical altercation and was forced to shoot, but Hamilton County prosecutor Joseph Deters said body-camera evidence completely contradicted this account, with the officer never being in danger.

In a frank assessment of the officer’s conduct, Deters said Tensing had “purposely killed” DuBose and that he “should never have been a police officer.

Now the officer is to be charged with the murder of Dubose.

African American’s across the country must wonder if any interaction with a law enforcement officer will end up with them being shot dead.

DuBose’s death is the latest in a string of a high-profile killings of black Americans at the hands of US police, and comes after a string of deaths including 50-year old Walter Scott, 40-year old Aura Rosser, 18-year old Michael Brown, and 12-year old boy Tamir Rice.

These deaths seem to be the tragic outcome of America’s festering sore that is racism, which at times translates to gun-toting law enforcement officers viewing Black people not as human beings like them, but as animals to be put down.

When will America face up to its racial demons that leave a nation divided? Many will also say that even with an African-American President nothing much changes.

Simon Woolley