Police officer charged with murder in Samuel Dubose shooting

The white campus police officer who shot an unarmed black motorist in the head during a routine traffic stop will face murder charges.

Samuel Dubose was shot on July 19 after being pulled over by University of Cincinnati officer Ray Tensing for a missing front licence plate.

The indictment by a grand jury came after police released video footage filmed on the officer's body camera which directly contradicts Tensing's version of events.

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According to the official police report: "Officer Tensing stated he almost was run over by the driver of the Honda Accord and was forced to shoot the driver with his duty weapon.”

But the video shows the car started slowly moving away from Tensing, who immediately responds by reaching into the vehicle and firing a single shot into the victim's head.

Warning: video contains graphic footage

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It was clear that Tensing "purposefully killed" Dubose, Hamilton County prosecutor Joe Deters told the New York Times. "He should never have been a police officer," he said.

Dubose's death is the latest in a series of shootings of unarmed black men by white police officers in the United States, raising racial tensions and spawning the Black Lives Matter movement.

The organisation estimates a black man, woman, or child is murdered by police or vigilante law enforcement in the US every 28 hours.

The footage of Dubose's death has bolstered support for officers across the country to be fitted with body cameras in order to increase police accountability.

"Without the video, it's much less likely a grand jury would have agreed to an indictment," says Vox.

"If there's no camera footage, these cases tend to turn into he-says-she-says situations between civilians and police officers, and grand juries and prosecutors tend to see the police as more credible."