Ohio House to consider police body-cameras
Ohio Representative Kevin Boyce (D) of Columbus plans to introduce a bill this fall that would require all police in the state to wear body-cameras and to keep them running (along with dashboard cams) during interactions with the public. Boyce has been working on the proposal since May and says that he plans to formally present the proposed measure in the fall legislative session.
This week, a University of Cincinnati police officer was indicted on a murder charge in the shooting death of a 43 year-old motorist during a traffic stop. Officer Raymond Tensing pulled Samuel Dubose over earlier this month saying that Dubose did not have a front license plate. Dubose was asked for his drivers license several times. Dubose said that he was a licensed driver but did not have his ID with him. Late in the exchange, the officer asks that Dubose take off his seatbelt. Dubose turns on the ignition. Tensing orders Dubose to stop before putting his weapon through the open window and firing a single shot into the driver’s head. (The entire incident was captured on the officer’s body-camera.)
In the initial report from Cincinnati, Tensing says that he was being dragged by the car and feared being run over. The prosecutor disputes the officer’s claim and says that Dubose should not have been pulled over in the first place.
Representative Boyce says that the incident in Cincinnati shows the effectiveness of body-cameras when it comes to gathering all of the facts in cases involving police and the public. (jj)
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