Bodycam Video release of University of Cincinnati police officer Ray Tensing shooting in the head and killing Sam DuBose after traffic stop for missing front license plate

Bodycam Video release of University of Cincinnati police officer Ray Tensing shooting in the head and killing Sam DuBose. Prior to the shot being fired Officer Tensing attempted to open the car door, and demanded that Sam take his seatbelt off. When Sam did not take seatbelt off nor open door, DuBose shot him in the head and killed him.

Story by NBC News
Written by Erik Ortiz

A University of Cincinnati police officer who shot a driver to death during a routine traffic stop probably would not have been indicted for murder, authorities say, without a key piece of evidence — video from a camera worn by the cop.

Law enforcement experts who reviewed the body-cam footage taken from Officer Ray Tensing also say it shows how he handled the situation poorly before it culminated with deadly force.

"Body-worn cameras can't change incompetence. When I look at that video, I see incompetence," Michael White, an Arizona State University criminology professor, told NBC News. "It's unfortunate, it's a terrible tragedy, how that individual became a police officer and served (since 2012)."

The video also calls into question why Tensing's version of events from the July 19 stop don't entirely jibe with the recording.

Tensing, 25, claimed in an incident report that he was dragged by Samuel DuBose's car. Tensing said he was "almost run over by the driver of the Honda Accord and was forced to shoot the driver with his duty weapon."

But bodycam video told a different story, prosecutors said.

In the footage, which was released Wednesday, the officer approaches DuBose's Accord after pulling him over for missing a front license plate. Tensing asks DuBose, 43, for his license, which the driver says he doesn't have on him.

The stop escalates when Tensing asks him to get out of the car, and a scuffle ensues when DuBose appears to start the car to drive off. Without warning, the officer shoots DuBose in the head while he is still behind the wheel, and the car accelerates down the road before coming to a stop.

Prosecutors said DuBose died instantly.

Read more: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/university-cincinnati-officers-bodycam-was-crucial-murder-indictment-officials-n400926