(CNN) — University of Cincinnati Police Officer Ray Tensing was indicted Wednesday on a murder charge for shooting motorist Samuel Dubose during a traffic stop earlier this month.
If convicted, Tensing could go to prison for life, said Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters in a press conference in which he played body camera footage of the shooting.
“He purposely killed him,” said Deters, saying that Tensing shot Dubose in the head. Deters called the killing “asinine” and “senseless.”
Dubose was unarmed, Cincinatti police have said, was driving away when Tensing shot him in the head.
“I was shocked. I was shocked,” the prosecutor said, describing how he felt when he saw the video. “I realized what this was going to mean to our community and it really broke my heart because I know it’s just bad. It’s just bad what he did. It shouldn’t have happened.”
Deters said that Tensing said he pulled Dubose over because Dubose’s car was missing a front license plate.
A reporter asked if he thought Tensing tried to mislead investigators looking into the incident.
“Yes,” Deters said. “I think he was making an excuse for the purposeful killing” of Dubose.
