There’s a lot not to like about the story of University of Cincinnati Police Officer Ray Tensing being indicted on a murder charge in the shooting death of Samuel DuBose.
Much like the Sandra Brown being pulled over for failing to signal when changing lanes, DuBose was stopped because the car he was driving did not have front license plates. It is hard to fathom how two seemingly innocent events could turn so tragic, but something else caught my eye; how certain media outlets built graphic art to promote their coverage.
As you can see, the photo of Tensing shows him smiling, in uniform with an American flag behind him. DeBose’s photo was a mugshot taken when he was arrested for drug charges.
This of course blew up social media, calling the graphic everything from inconsiderate, to racist, to just plain stupid. Most of the outlets have removed the graphic, but as everyone should know, nothing dies on the internet.
It can be argued the graphic, just like the traffic stops were not meant to internally do harm, but if I was a black man, I think I might feel differently.
