The former University of Cincinnati police officer charged with shooting an unarmed black man during a traffic stop was released from jail on bond Thursday, just hours after his first court appearance.

On Wednesday, Ray Tensing, 25, was indicted on murder and voluntary manslaughter charges in the July 19 death of 43-year-old Samuel DuBose. The white officer appeared in court Thursday and was withheld on a $1 million jail bond. However, he was then released from jail that day after making bond, reports Reuters.

Tensing is scheduled to return to court on Aug. 19. He faces life in prison if found guilty.

Video footage from Tensing's body camera appears to show the cop opening fire as DuBose drives off during a traffic stop over an alleged missing license tag. DuBose's car started slowly rolling forward as Tensing reached in and commanded him to stop. The officer then pulled his gun and fired once, shooting DuBose in the head.

The officer argues that he was forced to discharge his weapon after almost being run over. Tensing's attorney, Stew Mathews, told reporters Tensing had feared for his life.

"The guy jams the keys in the ignition," Mathews told CNN. "Turns the car on, jams it (into) drive and mashes the accelerator. He wasn't slowly pulling away. (Tensing) feared for his life. He thought he was going to be sucked under the car that was pulling away from him. He thought he was going to get sucked under and killed."

Hamilton County Prosecutor Joseph Deters, on the other hand, contends that Tensing's argument that he was dragged by DuBose's car is not true.

"I've been doing this for over 30 years. This is the most asinine act I've ever seen a police officer make -- totally unwarranted," Deters said at a news conference earlier this week. "It's an absolute tragedy in the year 2015 that anyone would behave in this manner. It was senseless."

The prosecutor also argues that DuBose had not acted aggressively toward the white cop, meaning the shooting was not warranted.

"People want to believe that Mr. DuBose had done something violent towards the officer -- he did not. He did not at all. I feel so sorry for his family and what they lost, and I feel sorry for the community, too," Deters said. "I think he was making an excuse for a purposeful killing."