Police Officer Charged With Murder of South Carolina Man
- Page 1 of 1
Full Story @ http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/08/us/south-carolina-officer-is-charged-with-murder-in-black-mans-death.html?smid=tw-share&_r=0">New York Times
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/bcvideo/1.0/iframe/embed.html?videoId=100000003615939">Video of the incident (Graphic WARNING NSFW)
A white police officer has been charged with murder, the mayor of North Charleston, S.C., said Tuesday, after a video surfaced showing him shooting and killing an apparently unarmed black man in the back while he ran away.
The officer, Michael T. Slager, had said he feared for his life because the man took his stun gun in a scuffle after a traffic stop on Saturday. A video, however, shows the officer firing eight times as the man fled. The state charges were announced in a news conference Tuesday evening...
...The shooting unfolded after Officer Slager stopped a Mercedes-Benz with a broken taillight, according to police reports. The driver, Walter L. Scott, 50, ran away, and Officer Slager chased him into a grassy lot that abuts a muffler shop. He fired his Taser, an electronic stun gun, but it did not stop Mr. Scott, according to police reports.
Moments later, Officer Slager reported on his radio, “Shots fired and the subject is down. He took my Taser,” according to police reports...
But the video, which was taken by a bystander and provided to The New York Times by Mr. Scott’s lawyer, presents a different account. The video begins in the vacant lot, apparently moments after Officer Slager fired his Taser. Wires, which carry the electrical current from the stun gun, appear to be extending from Mr. Scott’s body as the two men tussle and Mr. Scott turns to run.
Something — it is not clear whether it is the stun gun — is either tossed or knocked to the ground behind the two men and Officer Slager draws his gun, the video shows. When the officer fires, Mr. Scott appears to be 15 to 20 feet away and fleeing. He falls after the last of eight shots.The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, the state’s criminal investigative body, is investigating the shooting. The Justice Department, which has opened a string of civil rights investigations into police departments under Mr. Holder, is also reviewing the shooting.
This used to be the kind of thing you'd only see in movies.
i think the police are emboldened by the apathy of the general public toward the more frequent but less obvious abuses. This cop was extremely casual about the whole thing and his coworkers seemed to be along for the ride.
I love how it was all so procedural.
Casually drop stun gun next to body.
Yep.... that's all the evidence we need.
By Moris Go To Post Sobering to think if that person wasn't there with that camera that cop would probably be cleared of any wrong-doing and back on the beat.
For sure.
But can you imagine if he beats this rap when the video appears to be so clear-cut?
I just hope the prosecutor doesn't overextend himself and go for a big charge that requires too high a burden. I expect the cop to say that the video missed the previous part and that it's impossible to tell what happened when he dropped the taser next to the body. But there's no way in hell he can argue he was in fear of his life when the guy was unarmed and running away.
Just imagine how many instances of abuse go unpunished because there wasn't a camera rolling...
By Zero Tolerance Go To Post I continue to be fascinated at how people think that the public lynching of black men has ceased merely because we have entered into the 21st century.
If you're not affected by it personally, people don't really care.
By RBK Go To PostIf you're not affected by it personally, people don't really care.
That's the core of it right there. People hear the victim was black and go "oh, ok. #notallcops"
By Trey Go To Post I wonder what the inner monologue was like for the black officer.
"Blue is better than black" "Think about Eileen" "Michael and I drank beers together, we're brothers now"
By Trey Go To Post I wonder what the inner monologue was like for the black officer.
"4 more years til I'm behind a desk. 8 til I collect my pension and never look back"
By DY_nasty Go To Post"4 more years til I'm behind a desk. 8 til I collect my pension and never look back"
In January, my dad retried from 20+ in law enforcement. This is quoted for truth.
By gotemrunnin Go To Post He literally dropped the taser like Johnson would sprinkle some crack. Thought my home state would have been better after the cop a few months ago shot that dude at the gas station for asking him to pull out his liscense then shot for reaching for a weapon.
Your state was the first to secede #NeverForget #NotOverIt