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+--- Thread: POLICE BRUTALITY CASES: WALTER SCOTT MURDER & MORE (/thread-11806.html)
POLICE BRUTALITY CASES: WALTER SCOTT MURDER & MORE - SIXFOOTERsez - 04-08-2015
Just heard about this one this morning.
Apparently happened Saturday. Cop sops a guy for a broken tail light, there is a scuffle, cop tases the guy, guy runs and cop fire 8 times hitting the guy 5 times.
THEN he lies....
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/08/us/south-carolina-officer-is-charged-with-murder-in-black-mans-death.html?_r=0
South Carolina Officer Is Charged With Murder in Black Man’s Death
WASHINGTON — A white police officer in North Charleston, S.C., was charged with murder on Tuesday after a video surfaced showing him shooting in the back and killing an apparently unarmed black man while the man ran away.
The officer, Michael T. Slager, 33, said he had feared for his life because the man had taken his stun gun in a scuffle after a traffic stop on Saturday. A video, however, shows the officer firing eight times as the man, Walter L. Scott, 50, fled. The North Charleston mayor announced the state charges at a news conference Tuesday evening.
The shooting came on the heels of high-profile instances of police officers’ using lethal force in New York, Cleveland, Ferguson, Mo., and elsewhere. The deaths have set off a national debate over whether the police are too quick to use force, particularly in cases involving black men.
A White House task force has recommended a host of changes to the nation’s police policies, and President Obama sent Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. to cities around the country to try to improve police relations with minority neighborhoods.
North Charleston is South Carolina’s third-largest city, with a population of about 100,000. African-Americans make up about 47 percent of residents, and whites account for about 37 percent. The Police Department is about 80 percent white, according to data collected by the Justice Department in 2007, the most recent period available.
“When you’re wrong, you’re wrong,” Mayor Keith Summey said during the news conference. “And if you make a bad decision, don’t care if you’re behind the shield or just a citizen on the street, you have to live by that decision.”
The shooting unfolded after Officer Slager stopped the driver of a Mercedes-Benz with a broken taillight, according to police reports. Mr. Scott 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 after the struggle, 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 the Scott family’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 officer then runs back toward where the initial scuffle occurred and picks something up off the ground. Moments later, he drops an object near Mr. Scott’s body, the video shows.
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, the state’s criminal investigative body, has begun an inquiry into the shooting. The F.B.I. and the Justice Department, which has opened a string of civil rights investigations into police departments under Mr. Holder, is also investigating.
For several minutes after the shooting, Walter L. Scott remained face down with his hands cuffed behind his back.
The Supreme Court has held that an officer may use deadly force against a fleeing suspect only when there is probable cause that the suspect “poses a significant threat of death or serious physical injury to the officer or others.”
Officer Slager served in the Coast Guard before joining the force five years ago, his lawyer said. The police chief of North Charleston did not return repeated calls. Because police departments are not required to release data on how often officers use force, it was not immediately clear how often police shootings occurred in North Charleston, a working-class community adjacent to the tourist destination of Charleston.
Mr. Scott had been arrested about 10 times, mostly for failing to pay child support or show up for court hearings, according to The Post and Courier newspaper of Charleston. He was arrested in 1987 on an assault and battery charge and convicted in 1991 of possession of a bludgeon, the newspaper reported. Mr. Scott’s brother, Anthony, said he believed Mr. Scott had fled from the police on Saturday because he owed child support.
“He has four children; he doesn’t have some type of big violent past or arrest record,” said Chris Stewart, a lawyer for Mr. Scott’s family. “He had a job; he was engaged. He had back child support and didn’t want to go to jail for back child support.”
Mr. Stewart said the coroner had told him that Mr. Scott was struck five times — three times in the back, once in the upper buttocks and once in the ear — with at least one bullet entering his heart. It is not clear whether Mr. Scott died immediately. (The coroner’s office declined to make the report available to The Times.)
Police reports say that officers performed CPR and delivered first aid to Mr. Scott. The video shows that for several minutes after the shooting, Mr. Scott remained face down with his hands cuffed behind his back. A second officer arrives, puts on blue medical gloves and attends to Mr. Scott, but is not shown performing CPR. As sirens wail in the background, a third officer later arrives, apparently with a medical kit, but is also not seen performing CPR.
The debate over police use of force has been propelled in part by videos like the one in South Carolina. In January, prosecutors in Albuquerque charged two police officers with murder for shooting a homeless man in a confrontation that was captured by an officer’s body camera. Federal prosecutors are investigating the death of Eric Garner, who died last year in Staten Island after a police officer put him in a chokehold, an episode that a bystander captured on video. A video taken in Cleveland shows the police shooting a 12-year-old boy, Tamir Rice, who was carrying a fake gun in a park. A White House policing panel recommended that police departments put more video cameras on their officers.
Mr. Scott’s brother said his mother had called him on Saturday, telling him that his brother had been shot by a Taser after a traffic stop. “You may need to go over there and see what’s going on,” he said his mother told him. When he arrived at the scene of the shooting, officers told him that his brother was dead, but he said they had no explanation for why. “This just doesn’t sound right,” he said in an interview. “How do you lose your life at a traffic stop?”
Anthony Scott said he last saw his brother three weeks ago at a family oyster roast. “We hadn’t hung out like that in such a long time,” Mr. Scott said. “He kept on saying over and over again how great it was.”
At the roast, Mr. Scott got to do two of the things he enjoyed most: tell jokes and dance. When one of Mr. Scott’s favorite songs was played, he got excited. “He jumped up and said, ‘That’s my song,’ and he danced like never before,” his brother said.
RE: Cop Charged with Murder for Killing a Black Man - Duchess - 04-08-2015
Just another filthy cop. I'm so glad there's video of him shooting the man in the back AND showing how he made an attempt to frame the man he murdered.
![[Image: 275B0A9000000578-3029597-Opening_fire_Mi...520621.jpg]](http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/04/08/13/275B0A9000000578-3029597-Opening_fire_Michael_Slager_a_police_officer_in_Charleston_South-a-19_1428496520621.jpg)
![[Image: 275CD3D700000578-3029597-Slager_is_pictu...520613.jpg]](http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/04/08/13/275CD3D700000578-3029597-Slager_is_pictured_above_picking_up_something_seemingly_his_Tase-a-14_1428496520613.jpg)
Officer Michael Slager -
![[Image: 275B0A9800000578-3029597-Slager_shown_in...520634.jpg]](http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/04/08/13/275B0A9800000578-3029597-Slager_shown_in_police_uniform_has_been_with_North_Charleston_po-a-21_1428496520634.jpg)
RE: Cop Charged with Murder for Killing a Black Man - JsMom - 04-08-2015
I'm sorry but it's about time that irresponsible cops get prosecuted for their actions. I agree with Duchess.
RE: Cop Charged with Murder for Killing a Black Man - FAHQTOO - 04-08-2015
I saw this last night. Was I mistaken, or did I see him put cuffs on him after he was already DEAD?
I don't have time to read the article.
RE: Cop Charged with Murder for Killing a Black Man - HairOfTheDog - 04-08-2015
I think the cop was charged with murder for shooting an unarmed man in the back multiple times and trying to stage a self-defense scene.
I don't know if the victim was unnecessarily and illegally (IMO) shot and killed because of fear or bias against blacks by Officer Slager, or instead because Slager is untrained, incompetent, and/or highly over-reactive.
But, it's a question that bears asking in this case -- would Slager have fired 8 times at a white man or a brown woman under the exact same circumstances?
In any event, I think the murder charge is appropriate, no matter why Slager chose to use excessive and fatal force.
![[Image: Walter-Scott-dead.jpg]](http://realitywives.net/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Walter-Scott-dead.jpg)
RIP Walter L. Scott
RE: Cop Charged with Murder for Killing a Black Man - Duchess - 04-08-2015
(04-08-2015, 09:30 AM)FAHQTOO Wrote: Was I mistaken, or did I see him put cuffs on him after he was already DEAD?
You're not mistaken, you saw that.
RE: Cop Charged with Murder for Killing a Black Man - Duchess - 04-08-2015
(04-08-2015, 09:31 AM)HairOfTheDog Wrote: I think the cop was charged with murder for shooting an unarmed man in the back multiple times and trying to stage a self-defense scene.
This kind of thing happens so much any more. It's like it's out of control. I don't blame blacks for being scared, I believe they have every reason to be.
RE: Cop Charged with Murder for Killing a Black Man - QueenBee - 04-08-2015
Holy Shit.
RE: Cop Charged with Murder for Killing a Black Man - SIXFOOTERsez - 04-08-2015
Yea, its pretty fucked up. Glad they are going to hang his ass.
Most of the time I am pretty pro cop, but that does not extend to backing them when they are clearly wrong.
You step over the line, you need to go down, no matter who you are.
I can see the cops treating blacks somewhat differently based on how they act, it seems their entire culture has adopted a thug mentality. I know that that is probably not true, but its all you see in the media. Scroll through the mug shots in any newspaper. It probably feels to the cops like ALL blacks they encounter in their job is some kind of asshole.
However, that does not make it open season. Despite the experience you have with them, you Still have to treat them with the same respect as everyone else.
Its one of the tougher parts of being a cop I recon, being measured by a slightly longer yard stick than regular folks.
RE: Cop Charged with Murder for Killing a Black Man - Duchess - 04-08-2015
(04-08-2015, 10:26 AM)SIXFOOTERsez Wrote: Despite the experience you have with them, you Still have to treat them with the same respect as everyone else.
I'm a firm believer in that working both ways.
RE: Cop Charged with Murder for Killing a Black Man - Jimbone - 04-08-2015
This is pretty egregious.
His first lawyer dropped him as a client after viewing the video apparently. I'd say it's pretty obvious why.
No matter what Slager's problem is - whether outright fear of black people or being a poorly trained cop - he's deserves whatever he's got coming his way.
RE: Cop Charged with Murder for Killing a Black Man - Blindgreed1 - 04-08-2015
(04-08-2015, 09:31 AM)HairOfTheDog Wrote: I think the cop was charged with murder for shooting an unarmed man in the back multiple times and trying to stage a self-defense scene.Oh for fuck sake. Does it also bear asking would the cop have shot a man in the back if the cop was Chinese? Phillipino? Turkish? Australian? Swiss? German? Seriously... That could go on for days. Point is, this cop is a piece of shit and he killed an innocent man in cold blood. We need to take the black and white out of daily conversation. Only then will the divide be conquered. A man with a badge and gun murdered an innocent man. End of story.
I don't know if the victim was unnecessarily and illegally (IMO) shot and killed because of fear or bias against blacks by Officer Slager, or instead because Slager is untrained, incompetent, and/or highly over-reactive.
But, it's a question that bears asking in this case -- would Slager have fired 8 times at a white man or a brown woman under the exact same circumstances?
In any event, I think the murder charge is appropriate, no matter why Slager chose to use excessive and fatal force.
RIP Walter L. Scott
RE: Cop Charged with Murder for Killing a Black Man - username - 04-08-2015
(04-08-2015, 09:30 AM)FAHQTOO Wrote: I saw this last night. Was I mistaken, or did I see him put cuffs on him after he was already DEAD?
I don't have time to read the article.
Yeah and he yells at him to put his hands behind his back too. Here's the full video. It's crazy disturbing.
RE: Cop Charged with Murder for Killing a Black Man - HairOfTheDog - 04-08-2015
Right on cue, Gunnar.
I'll ask whatever questions I feel bear asking. And, I'll listen to your answer every time -- though it's the same one every time, for fucks sake.
I rarely think shootings of unarmed citizens, blacks or otherwise, are motivated by race. You can find hundreds of posts to that effect by me all over this board. That doesn't mean that I'm so ignorant as to assume that no shootings of unarmed citizens are motivated by or impacted by race.
There's no reasonable explanation for this cop to have shot this victim. There's no chance of self-defense being a valid claim (though the cop sure did try to frame it as such). And, I just posted another story in a different thread about cops outwardly suggesting that niggers are shit who deserve to be put down. Race may play a part in this shooting and it may not. It's an open question and I'm sure it will be investigated, whether that rubs you wrong or not.
So, pull your head out of the sand or out of your ass if you wanna tell me what I should or shouldn't question or think, or up your game and make a valid substantiated case once in a while. Or, just keep insisting that I adopt your limited viewpoint over and over, to no avail.
RE: Cop Charged with Murder for Killing a Black Man - username - 04-08-2015
Yeah, it's impossible to say what was going on inside that cop's head when he fired.
On the one hand, like BG, I wish that people weren't quite so quick to put race in to the discussion. On the other hand, I'm listening to CNN now and they're reporting that the police department there has a history of racial profiling yada, yada. It will be interesting to see if this particular officer has a history of racist actions, statements...whatever.
RE: Cop Charged with Murder for Killing a Black Man - Maggot - 04-08-2015
"hands up.......don't shoot!"
RE: Cop Charged with Murder for Killing a Black Man - HairOfTheDog - 04-08-2015
It's such a good thing that the presently unidentified citizen recorded this incident and turned the video over to Scott's family.
Just like in the Tamir Rice case, the story floated by the police officer before he knew about the video was a self-serving false narrative.
Officer Slager originally contended that Scott took his taser away from him and that he then shot Scott because he felt threatened and feared for his safety. His attorney essentially contended that once all of the details were released, it would be clear that Slager was forced to kill Scott in self defense.
Then, the video was released and it became clear that Slager's story was bullshit and his attorney dropped him.
State Rep. Justin Bamberg, an attorney, said at the press conference yesterday, “Regardless of what may have happened leading up to this shooting, at the moment (Scott) turned and ran, and was no longer a threat to the officer or anybody else, that officer was completely and wholeheartedly unjustified in gunning down Mr. Scott. He did not shoot once. He shot seven times, paused, and then fired an eighth round.”
I agree with Bamberg and think Slager is going down.
RE: Cop Charged with Murder for Killing a Black Man - Duchess - 04-08-2015
Not that my opinion matters to any police officer any where but my days of giving them the benefit of doubt are long gone. The ones I read about are nothing more than a thug with a badge.
RE: Cop Charged with Murder for Killing a Black Man - Blindgreed1 - 04-08-2015
(04-08-2015, 02:17 PM)Duchess Wrote:It's always been that way Duchess. I doubt that will ever change.Like my old man used to say (he was a cop), "there's no such thing as a good cop, some of them just give a fuck."
Not that my opinion matters to any police officer any where but my days of giving them the benefit of doubt are long gone. The ones I read about are nothing more than a thug with a badge.
RE: Cop Charged with Murder for Killing a Black Man - username - 04-08-2015
In the presser today, the Mayor referred to a possible second tape recording.