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University of Cincinnati to pay $5.3 million to family of man killed by officer

 
Published Jan. 19, 2016

WASHINGTON — The University of Cincinnati has agreed to pay $4.85 million to the family of an unarmed black man who was shot to death in July by one of its police officers, a settlement that also requires the college to provide an undergraduate education to his 12 children, create a memorial to him on campus and include his family in discussions on police reform.

The family of Samuel DuBose, who was killed by a white officer during a routine traffic stop in what a prosecutor called a "senseless, asinine shooting," reached the settlement after two days of mediation, the university said Monday in announcing the deal. It estimated the total cost to the university, which is publicly funded, to be $5.3 million.

The agreement, which doesn't require the university to admit liability, includes a promise that the university president, Santa Ono, will apologize to the DuBose family. In an interview, Ono said the university felt a "civic responsibility" to go beyond the kind of cash settlement customary in police-involved deaths.

One of DuBose's daughters, Raegan Brooks, 18, who served as the family's representative in the talks, said she was "very comfortable" with the settlement. Still, she added, "At times I wanted to walk out because I felt like they were putting a price on my father's life."

DuBose, 43, was shot and killed July 19 by Officer Ray Tensing, who pulled him over in a Cincinnati neighborhood adjacent to the campus because his car lacked a front license plate. The shooting was captured on a body camera, and Tensing, who was fired from the department, faces trial on a charge of murder.

The death, amid a national debate over race and policing, raised questions about whether the university's police force had the experience and training required to enforce laws in complex urban neighborhoods.

The deal appears in line with other recent settlements of cases involving police officers. Baltimore agreed in September to pay $6.4 million to the family of Freddie Gray, an unarmed black man who suffered a fatal spinal cord injury in police custody.