University of Cincinnati Police Officer Ray Tensing was indicted Wednesday on a murder charge for fatally shooting Samuel DuBose during a traffic stop July 19.

It’s the first time a police officer in the city has been charged with murder for killing someone while on duty.

Video from the officer’s body camera shows a routine traffic stop turning suddenly violent when DuBose leans toward the passenger seat and Tensing fires a single shot into his head. DuBose did not appear to be belligerent or aggressive before the officer fired.

“It’s an absolute tragedy that anyone would behave in this manner,” said Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters. “It was senseless. It’s just horrible.

“He purposefully killed him.”

Tensing, 25, faces 15 years to life in prison if he’s convicted.

The decision came after 12 Hamilton County citizens reviewed evidence all day Monday as part of a grand jury investigation into the incident, which has put the city on edge and rekindled worries about the sometimes strained relationship between police and African-Americans in Cincinnati.

UC’s campus shut down and classes were canceled Wednesday in anticipation of the announcement. Ohio Highway Patrol troopers were seen arriving on campus by late morning.

City officials say they also are taking no chances. Cincinnati police are preparing for possible protests and unrest, while Mayor John Cranley and other city officials are asking neighborhood activists to help keep the peace.

They said the city has changed since the riots and unrest that followed a fatal shooting of an unarmed black man by police in 2001, and they are optimistic the reaction this time will be peaceful.

Tensing shot and killed DuBose, who is black, after stopping his car at Rice and Valencia streets in Mount Auburn for having a missing front license plate.

The video shows some back-and-forth between Tensing and DuBose over whether he has a suspended driver’s license before the officer asks DuBose to take off his seatbelt.

At that point, DuBose tells the officer, “I didn’t even do nothing.”

The shot is fired seconds later.

most telling in this video is that DuBose literally did nothing wrong, was complying with the officers commands, and was not belligerent nor disrespectful towards the officer. as usual, i challenge all the apologists for these events to point to the exact moment in the video linked below where DuBose deserved to die. the same justifications come out when these killings happen all the time: if only he complied with the officer, if only he didn't attack/mouth-off/raise-something-that-might-be-construed-as-a-weapon/put-his-hands-where-the-officer-couldn't-see-them/whatever-rationale-is-needed-to-justify-killing-yet-another-unarmed-black-person. oh, and let's not forget the all-time classic "well, it's extremely dangerous to be a police officer, so of course they're going to kill someone who threatens them." thanfully we are seeing more and more how police forces lie and distort reality to justify murdering the citizens they're sworn to protect. now we just need to stop believing the lies and start holding these officers accountable for their actions.