An Ohio judge declared a mistrial for the second time in the case against Ray Tensing, a former University of Cincinnati police officer charged with the 2015 shooting of an unarmed black driver during a traffic stop.
After five days of deliberations, the jury said Friday afternoon it was deadlocked and Hamilton County Judge Leslie Ghiz declared a mistrial in the murder and voluntary manslaughter trial.
The case spurred from a deadly encounter, caught on police cameras, between Tensing and 43-year-old motorist Samuel DuBose.
This is the second time Tensing has been brought before a jury on criminal charges. The first round also ended in a mistrial last year with a jury unable to come to a unanimous verdict after deliberating for more than 20 hours.
DuBose's family said in a statement released shortly after the mistrial that they were "outraged" that a second jury failed to convict Tensing "for the murder of our beloved Sam DuBose."
"We demand another retrial. We call on the community to join us in peaceful protest of this unjust result," the family said.
DuBose, a 43-year-old father of 13, was driving near the University of Cincinnati in July 2015 when he was pulled over by Tensing for missing a front license plate, police said.
Tensing asked DuBose for his driver's license and registration, which he failed to provide. The officer then ordered him to step out of his car and tried to open the door, but DuBose refused. The car began to pull away.
With one hand still inside the car, Tensing yelled, "Stop! Stop!" before firing his gun at DuBose, striking him in the head. The car then began traveling out of control before coming to a stop.
Tensing's bodycam captured the incident.
The men had a conversation for about one minute and 50 seconds before it escalated with Tensing and DuBose in a struggle. Within just a few seconds, Tensing fired his gun.
Two other officers were on scene, and their body cameras captured other angles of the shooting's aftermath.
Prosecutors quickly announced murder and voluntary manslaughter charges against Tensing, and he became the first officer in Cincinnati to face murder charges for killing someone while on duty.
Tensing told investigators that he feared for his life.
Jurors in the second trial consisted of nine white jurors and three black jurors.
During closing arguments, prosecutors said the case was a "slam-dunk" on manslaughter charges, according to NBC Cincinnati WLWT5.
Meanwhile, defense attorneys said Tensing feared for his life and that questing on the officer’s actions is "20/20 hindsight."
The case marks the third time in just one week that an officer who used deadly force against a civilian walked free. Minnesota officer Jeronimo Yanaz was acquitted on June 16 for fatally shooting Philando Castile, also during what was supposed to be a routine traffic stop. Milwaukee officer Dominique Heaggan-Brown was also found not guilty Wednesday in the death of a 23-year-old Sylville K. Smith.
