The trial of Ray Tensing, a white University of Cincinnati police officer who fatally shot an unarmed black man during a traffic stop in July 2015, resulted in a hung jury on Friday, marking the second time Tensing’s case has ended in a mistrial. In November 2016, a jury was unable to decide whether Tensing was guilty of murder and voluntary manslaughter after more than 25 hours of deliberations. Over the last five days, a new set of jurors deliberated for more than 30 hours before failing to reach a unanimous verdict.
The case represents yet another instance in which a U.S. police officer is not charged for the killing of a black civilian. On Wednesday, a black Milwaukee police officer was acquitted of first-degree reckless homicide after fatally shooting Sylville Smith, a 23-year-old black man. Last week, a Minnesota jury also acquitted the white police officer who shot and killed 32-year-old Philando Castile, despite dashcam footage that many said proved the officer’s culpability. On Friday afternoon, dozens gathered outside the Hamilton County Courthouse in Cincinnati to protest the jury’s decision. November’s mistrial garnered a much larger response, with around a thousand protestors flooding the city’s streets, shouting, “Black lives matter! Sam’s life matters!”