CINCINNATI — This time, some of the sharpest criticism of a police officer after the slaying of an unarmed black man came from top law enforcement and city officials.

The Wednesday indictment of a University of Cincinnati police officer on a charge of murder in the traffic-stop shooting was applauded by officials in a city roiled by racial violence that erupted in 2001 after an unarmed black man was killed by Cincinnati police after a string of earlier shootings by officers.

The family of Samuel DuBose, 43, urged the community to remain calm, as it has in a series of demonstrations since the July 19 shooting by officer Ray Tensing, who is white. Tensing had stopped DuBose for a missing front license plate, which is required in Ohio but not in neighboring states.

DuBose’s death comes amid months of national scrutiny of police dealings with African-Americans, especially those killed by officers. Authorities so far have not focused on race in the death of DuBose. City officials who have viewed the video said the traffic stop shouldn’t have led to a shooting.

“This officer was wrong,” Cincinnati Police Chief Jeffrey Blackwell said, adding that officers “have to be held accountable” when they’re in the wrong.