Former University of Cincinnati police officer Raymond M. Tensing (who fatally shot and killed unarmed black motorist Samuel DuBose in 2015) is being retried again. Last year, the trial ended in a hung-jury, and on Friday, it was reported that the jury is now deadlocked. The DuBose family has expressed shock that a second jury has not convicted Tensing and that the judge has denied an attempt to call for a third trial, saying it was too late. It's likely that Tensing will become the 16th high-profile case to end in no charges for the officer.
On June 16, former officer Jeronimo Yanez was acquitted for the shooting death of Philando Castile during a traffic stop.
The stop took place last year which was caught on a Facebook live video by his girlfriend, calmly telling viewers what had just taken place as Philando is seen dying in the passenger seat next to her. Yanez was found not-guilty of second-degree manslaughter. This week, dashboard video footage was released showing Yanez shooting into the car.
Pattern of judgment among police officers
On Friday when the verdict was called, Philando's mother Valerie Castile screamed out and cried in the court room before the families of officer Yanez and Castile were escorted out of the room through two separate exits. The arguments made in the court appeared to be more on the side of Yanez, saying that he made a mistake and pulled his gun out too soon.
At the same time, they also went for the character assassination of Philando Castile by saying that he had a gun in his pocket and that he was high on marijuana which impaired his judgment.
Slap on the wrist for Officer Yanez
Yanez reportedly said in court that he did not want to shoot Castile, repeating what many before him have said, which is that he feared for his life.
The St. Anthony Police Department released a statement on Friday saying that the city would be better served if Jeronimo Yanez were no longer with the police force. They also said that they would help him transition to another job better suited for him. After the incident, Officer Yanez did return to work but outraged citizen forced the department to put him on paid-leave until the end of the trail.
Protesters reach their limit
While many called for healing, there is already a sense among protesters that healing is no longer an option. Over the years, with multiple police shootings, activists have come out to protest after each recorded shooting death and death while detained/in custody, and have become even more enraged as officers are acquitted more times than they're arrested. One reporter for the City Pages attended a few protests resulting from the verdict despite the fact that activists were too outraged to allow media to get near them. Organizers told protesters to not talk with the media, and when some activists were asked questions, other protesters would show up to block reporters or to escort them away.
In an article by City Pages titled: "Philando Castile verdict: covering a wounded St. Paul turns into a long night in jail," reporter Susan Du said that they were caught up and corralled by police officers who were there to disperse the crowd. Some of the protesters were reportedly hit with tear gas when they didn't leave, and many ended up being arrested, including Susan Du. In much of the story, she recalls the overnight stay in jail, police officers recalling "the good old days" of rounding up protesters, and having an attorney make demands to give her back her gear. Here is video from ABC News that summarizes the case, the verdict, and practices by local law enforcement and protesters.
