Prosecutor: police shooting in traffic stop clearly murder

FILE – In this Nov. 11, 2016, file photo, former University of Cincinnati police officer Ray Tensing, center, leaves court during jury deliberations in his murder trial in Cincinnati. Attorneys are expected to start questioning prospective jurors Tuesday, May 30, 2017, for the murder retrial of Tensing, a white police officer who fatally shot an unarmed black motorist in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)

CINCINNATI (AP) — A prosecutor has told Ohio jurors that evidence will show that the 2015 police shooting of a black unarmed motorist was clearly murder, while the defense attorney says the white officer shot to “stop the threat.”

Attorney Stewart Mathews for Ray Tensing said in his opening statement Thursday that the former University of Cincinnati police officer charged with murder and voluntary manslaughter feared for his life as Sam DuBose tried to drive away from a traffic stop.

But Prosecutor Stacey DeGraffenreid (de-GRAF’-in-reed) said evidence including body camera video will show Tensing wasn’t trapped. She said he disregarded his police training during the traffic stop.

Nine white jurors and three black jurors were seated Wednesday in Tensing’s retrial in Hamilton County. His first trial ended in a hung jury last November.