Seized liquor bottle contains air freshener
Lab tests confirm that contents of a bottle of Barton’s gin seized by Tensing in Dubose’s traffic stop are, as Dubose had said, air freshener. The liquid tests negative for ethyl alcohol. Hamilton County Coroner:
[The liquid] consistent with compounds commonly found in fragrance products such as air fresheners and perfumes.
Officers involved in previous death
The Guardian reports that Kidd and Weibel, the officers who corroborated Tensing’s account of Dubose’s shooting, were implicated in prior death of another unarmed black man. Kelly Brinson, a 45 year old hospitalized mentally ill black man experiences a psychotic episode and is placed into a seclusion room by seven University of Cincinnati officers. According to the lawsuit, before Brinson was placed in restraints he “repeatedly yelled that slavery was over and he repeatedly pleaded not to be shackled and not to be treated like a slave”. One of the officers shocks him three times with a taser and puts him in restraints. Brinson suffers cardiac arrest and dies three days later leaving behind a young son, brother and sister. Court documents state:
All seven officers are accused of using excessive force and acted with deliberate indifference to the serious medical and security needs of Mr Brinson.
Brinson’s family settled a federal civil court case with the hospital and the police department for $638,000. All University of Cincinnati campus police officers were also removed from patrolling the psychiatric wards at the hospital after Brinson’s death.
Officers corroborate Tensing’s story
Tensings body-camera records two unnamed Cincinnati police officers corroborate his account of the fatal shooting of Samuel Dubois, where they backed him up when he says he was dragged by the victim’s car. The officers repeat Tensing’s account of the incident three times and one officer says he witnessed the victim dragging Tensing. Parts of the video transcript:
Tensing: I think I’m OK. He was just dragging me.
Second Officer: Yeah, I saw that.
Tensing: I thought I was going to get run over. I was trying to stop him.
Later, Tensing: He was dragging me, man.
Officer: Yeah.
Tensing: I got my hand and my arm caught inside.
Officer: Yeah, I saw that.
Says Dubose was dragging him
In a police incident report Tensing claims that Dubose was dragging him with his car and he feared he would be run over when he fired a single shot that killed him. Another officer, Phillip Kidd, said he witnessed Dubose’s 1998 Honda Accord dragging Tensing and Tensing firing one shot, Another officer, who wrote the report, Eric Weibel, said he observed Tensing after the incident and said Tensing complained of pain in his left arm:
I could see that the back of his pants and shirt looked as if he had been dragged over a rough surface.