Ray Tensing Sympathizers Want to Know How to Send Money to Samuel Dubose's Shooter

People wanting to give money to former University of Cincinnati police officer Ray Tensing have contacted his attorney, Stew Matthews, to ask how they could contribute to Tensing's "defense fund," the attorney confirmed to Mic Friday.

"I've received emails from across the country [from people] asking to contribute to a defense fund," Matthews told Mic. "They're just individuals who have seen it on the news. They support law enforcement and they feel like he's being railroaded." 

Matthews said the money could be used to pay experts or to pay his lawyer fees, but that he didn't think his client had set up such a fund. 

A traffic stop and a death: Tensing, 26, shot and killed 43-year-old Samuel Dubose during a traffic stop on July 19. Tensing had worked as a police officer with the University of Cincinnati for over a year when he pulled Dubose over because his car didn't have a front license plate.

A few minutes into the exchange between the officer and the driver, Dubose's appears to move, and Tensing fires the fatal shot. The car continued to roll forward and hit a pole before coming to a stop. 

Video footage tells a different story. Footage from a video camera mounted to Tensing's chest captured the entire encounter on tape. Investigators who reviewed the footage said the video did not support Tensing's account of events, namely his claims that his arm got stuck in the driver's side window and that he shot Dubose because he thought he would get dragged along by the car. 

"I think [Tensing] was making an excuse for the purposeful killing of another person," Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters said at a press conference Wednesday, before the video was released to the media. "He wasn't dragging him. And [Tensing] pulled out his gun and intentionally shot him in the head." 

A grand jury indicted Tensing, who was fired from his post on the university police force, Wednesday on charges of murder and voluntary manslaughter. He pleaded not guilty to both.

Out on bond: Tensing's bond was set at $1 million. His family posted 10% of his bond, a surety payment that allowed Tensing to be released until his trial. 

Tensing was out of jail on bond Thursday night. His next court appearance was scheduled for Aug. 9. 

Some people saw Tensing not as a killer, but as a victim. "Remember a cops first job is to go home every night to his family," one commenter on Heavy wrote. "I'm proud of our men in blue. God bless them. Is there a [GoFundMe] site for this officer so that we can show our support with money?"