Less than eight hours after being arrested, the former University of Cincinnati police officer accused of killing Sam DuBose is out on bail. Ray Tensing’s bail was set at $1 million on Thursday by Judge Megan Shanahan, which caused the courtroom to erupt in applause before the spectators were silenced by the judge and court staff.
“Ever since the bond was set, I’ve received calls from around the country from people wanting to contribute to it. I think people feel like he’s getting railroaded here in Cincinnati. You’d have to be blind not to see that,” said Tensing’s attorney, Stew Matthews.
Matthews went on to say that he had received calls from across the U.S. of people wanting to help out or pay Tensing’s bail, but he would not say how many calls he received or the amounts offered. Matthews also felt the bail amount of $1 million was excessive and said, “For a police officer with no prior record who has lived here his entire life and not going to go anywhere, I thought it was excessive.”
Tensing only had to come up with 10 percent of the $1 million, so within that eight-hour period that he was in jail, somehow he was able to raise $100,000 and was released around 6:45 pm yesterday. Tensing was reportedly on suicide watch in jail and his demeanor has been described as “zombie like” and detached. His lawyer stated that his client had received numerous death threats and neither he nor his family would be talking to media.
