University of Cincinnati Pays $4.85 Million to Family of Campus Police Shooting Victim
The University of Cincinnati, Ohio, has agreed to pay the family of decedent Samuel DuBose $4.85 million after one of their police officers, Ray Tensing, shot him in the head during a traffic stop for a missing front license plate, on July 19, 2015. The settlement agreement, entered into on February 12, 2016, also included an unusual exhibit, a one-page written apology from University President Santo J. Ono.
According the complaint, filed in federal district court in the Western District of Ohio, "During the traffic stop, Officer Tensing approached the (decedent's) driver door and during the ensuing discussion opened the driver door as if he was commencing to forcibly remove Sam from the driver’s seat...Approximately two minutes into the dialogue between the men, Sam DuBose started his car (to drive away)... Officer Tensing drew his service revolver and shot Sam in the head at point blank range."
The complaint further alleged that the actions of the defendant deprived DuBose of his "right to be free of excessive force and unreasonable searches and seizure contained in the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution," violative of 42 U.S.C. Section 1983.
In the settlement agreement, the University agreed to pay the $4.85 million into a qualified settlement fund (QSF), which will be administered pursuant to a separate agreement between the parties, subject to the continued supervision of the district court, for the benefit of the estate of the decedent. In addition to the formal apology from University President Ono, that settlement agreement also included an offer to free tuition for the decedent's children should they qualify for admission to the University of Cincinnati, an invitation to join the Community Advisory committee seeking to reform the university police department, and a memorial to the decedent on the University campus.
See: Brooks v. Tensing, et al., 16-cv-308, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio Western Division, February 12, 2016.
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Related legal case
Brooks v. Tensing, et al.
| Year | 2016 |
|---|---|
| Cite | 16-cv-308, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio Western Division, February 12, 2016. |
| Level | District Court |
| Conclusion | Settlement |
| Damages | 4,850,000 |
| Injunction Status | N/A |