The Greater Cincinnati Urban League wants to hear from the community during a forum Thursday night about moving forward after the second Tensing mistrial.
Executive Director Dorothy Smoot of The Partnering Center says the idea is to identify common goals and ways to achieve them.
"Often times we talk about what our concerns are in town halls and then we wait to see what happens," says Smoot. "We hope to get people to identify what they can do, and then work with others to have a collaborative success."
In a release, the Urban League writes:
There have been protests, marches, vigils, Facebook Live exchanges of opinion, and "community conversations." All of which are viable forums for sharing opinions. However, how do we get beyond the trial? What will we do to ensure our community doesn't find itself in this position again?
Rather than having one open forum event, Smoot says attendees will meet in small groups before reporting back to the larger gathering.
"We really are going to have small groups where people can be heard, where people can share ideas, and then we're going to report out to the larger group what we've heard. In my experience, generally, themes will occur and we will hope that people will find their passion and work on those areas that float to the top."
Former University of Cincinnati police officer Ray Tensing was charged with murder and voluntary manslaughter for shooting and killing Sam DuBose during a 2015 traffic stop. His second trial ended in a hung jury June 23. The Hamilton County prosecutor is expected to announce sometime next week whether he'll seek a third trial.
