Cincinnati police are investigating the shooting of a reportedly unarmed black man by a University of Cincinnati police officer following a confrontation on Sunday, which resulted in the man's death, according to CNN.
Forty-three-year-old Samuel Dubose, a father of 13 children, was shot in the head by officer Ray Tensing, who has been working in law enforcement for five years and has been with the University of Cincinnati Police Department for more than a year.
Tensing, who is white, pulled the victim over for driving without a front license plate at approximately 6:30 p.m. on Sunday. He asked Dubose for his driving license several times, but Dubose instead handed the officer a bottle of alcohol from the car. The officer then asked Dubose to step outside the vehicle, but he refused. Dubose was shot in the head after a brief struggle as he sat behind the wheel of his car, according to Cincinnati Police Lt. Col. James L. Whalen.
The fatal shooting takes place amid growing concerns of racial discrimination and police brutality across the country, with critics alleging that black suspects are more likely to have force used against them during encounters with police.
Tensing has since been placed on administrative leave until further investigation. Police have recovered footage from a body camera the officer was wearing at the time and are also reviewing video from the CCTV camera of a nearby building, which will not be made public until the investigation is complete, according to NBC News.
University Police Chief Jason Goodrich said the campus police and the Cincinnati Police Department have an understanding that "allows the officers to function as a police officer within the city," according to The Washington Post.
"We mutually felt it was important to provide as much information and be as transparent as we could as we made our way along, but there are still important things we have to do in this investigation," Whalen said.
