Talk about adding insult to injury. Not only did former University of Cincinnati Police Officer Ray Tensing walk away with zero repercussions after shooting and killing an unarmed black man, but apparently, he’ll be paid handsomely for his trouble after receiving a settlement from the university.
According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, Tensing will receive almost $350,000 from the university following the settlement of a grievance the Ohio police union filed on Tensing’s behalf when he was fired after he fatally shot Sam Dubose in July 2015.
In exchange for $244,230 of back pay and benefits and $100,000 in legal fees, Tensing resigned and agreed not to file a lawsuit against the university.
The settlement left DaShonda Reid, the mother of four of Dubose’s 13 children and his fiancee, furious.
“I’m very upset with UC paying that murderer Tensing,” she told the news site via text. “He’s officially a paid assassin who has not shown one ounce of remorse for killing an innocent man.”
“To even want compensation [after] murdering an innocent man shows how soulless and callous he is,” Reid added. “UC has now reversed any of the rights they attempted to do by Sam. His blood is not only on Tensing’s hands [and] the justice system, it’s now on UC’s hands.”
Civil rights leader Bobby Hilton added that the settlement, which comes after two juries deadlocked on murder charges against Tensing, was like “a nail in the heart.”
“After sitting through the trial of Ray Tensing with the family of Samuel Dubose and witnessing lies and blatant acts of racism, the news of Ray Tensing getting a financial settlement is like a nail in the heart,” said Hilton, senior pastor of Word of Deliverance Ministries in Forest Park and spiritual adviser to members of the family. “However, our trust remains in God that with his help, we may someday obtain truth and justice for all.”
UC President Neville Pinto wrote in an email to students, faculty and staff concerning the settlement that he realizes “this agreement will be difficult for our community.” However he added that he is hopeful “we can focus on supporting each other as members of the same Bearcat family—even, perhaps especially, if we don’t agree.”
Of course, the only person left happy about the settlement is Tensing himself.
“I’m satisfied with the settlement agreement with the University of Cincinnati,” Tensing said in a statement Thursday. “This case has caused a lot of strife in the community, and I believe the settlement will allow for healing to continue; it certainly will do that for me after two difficult trials.”
Healing for whom? Who caused the strife? Who was the one who shot an unarmed man straight in the head, killing him?
Once again, we all witness how little black lives matter in this country ... to the point where you’ll be paid—rewarded, even—for killing a man.