POLICE BRUTALITY CASES: WALTER SCOTT MURDER & MORE

[Carsman]

Bang, Bang, Bang, Bang, Bang, Bang, Bang, Bang, STOP in the name of the Law!! Or I'll shoot again!

Poor guy was only stopped for a broken tail light, not raping & killing a woman or child!!! WTF!

[username]

It's amazing to me that the bystander who shot that video goes seemingly unnoticed by the cop during the encounter/immediate aftermath. If I was the bystander and the cop turned and stared at me with my camera in hand (before the other officers arrived), I probably would have pissed my pants.

[Duchess]

I'm so glad that video is out there. I must have said that a zillion times since I heard about it. I don't even care that the shooters wife is 8 months pregnant. Maybe his family will feel a nano bit of the pain that the dead man's is feeling. It's all on the cop and he better fricken reap what he has sown.

[heartbreaker6713]

I heard that the mayor will be extending the medical benefits for the 8 month pregnant wife , of the cop, because it is the humane thing to do. The cop was, rightfully so, terminated the day after charges were filed, I believe. I'm glad that there is swift action in the cop being arrested and taken into jail with no bond.

[username]

I heard that the mayor will be extending the medical benefits for the 8 month pregnant wife , of the cop, because it is the humane thing to do. The cop was, rightfully so, terminated the day after charges were filed, I believe. I'm glad that there is swift action in the cop being arrested and taken into jail with no bond.

Yo' HB!

Yeah, I agree. While the cop may be scum, his family shouldn't necessarily suffer the consequences of his actions. I'm pretty impressed with how quickly this police department/city has taken swift (and right) actions.

Given that, I was kind of bothered today when the mayor and police chief were trying to hold their press conference and there were demonstrators disrupting the conference. There hasn't been stonewalling, they seem to be doing everything "right" in their response to what happened and yet despite that, there are those that want to spread the blame to the officials who, so far, seem to be responding appropriately.

Fucking niggers.

[Blindgreed1]

Easy there User. You're going to get HoTD whipped up into a froth again with that kind of talk.

[Duchess]

I guess I have some compassion for the wife after all. This must be a nightmare for her too.

[HairOfTheDog]

Easy there User. You're going to get HoTD whipped up into a froth again with that kind of talk.

There's no froth, Gunnar, but keep trying.

User expresses her opinion and makes her points.

I understand her point on this one -- NC police seem to be responding swiftly and appropriately to a wrongful death at the hands of one of their police officers.

I haven't had time to read the latest news yet, so I don't know if the protestors are protesting the shooting itself as opposed to the police handling of the matter. I could understand the former.

In any event, protests and demonstrations don't froth me up like they do you and some others -- that's just the way it is...

[Jimbone]

Even though he could not say much because he's restricted by the investigation, I give the mayor credit for having that press conference. So far they seem to be handling things well, unless we learn otherwise down the road.

As soon as the investigators were given that video, Slager was terminated, arraigned, and being held without bond less than four days after the incident. I understand the protestors being upset, but that's pretty swift justice. Hopefully it's just initial venting, and not a precursor of things to come.

Also, good for the mayor ordering all police to wear body cameras immediately. My opinion is they should be on every officer on duty at all times. Keeps everyone honest when incidents occur.

[HairOfTheDog]

I read up; seems a couple of protestors chanted that the mayor should retire because they feel the shooting of Scott is symbolic of a systematic pattern of harassment over minor offenses by police in North Charleston.

Others in the crowd and in the media praised LE's quick response.

Snip:
The group, which numbered about 50 or so, expressed repeated outrage about the eight shots fired at Walter Lamer Scott as he ran from North Charleston Patrolman Michael Thomas Slager after a traffic stop.

Scott's brother Anthony Scott said Tuesday: "I thought that my brother was gunned down like an animal. It was just unbelievable to me to see that."

Many at the rally suggested there would have been no charges had the incident not been caught on camera.

The South Carolina NAACP released a statement late Tuesday night commending the U.S. Attorney's office, the FBI, SLED, and other law enforcement personnel for bringing charges against Slager, reports CBS affiliate WCSC in Charleston.

"The rapid response by law enforcement in this matter does bring some level of comfort to the community in the hopes that the judicial process will render an adequate measure of justice for the victim," Dr. Lonnie Randolph Jr., President of the SC State Conference of the NAACP said in a statement. Source: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/walter-scott...encounter/

I think it would be scary if people could watch this happen to a fellow unarmed citizen without opposing such action by a police officer.

That something like ^ that happened, and that prior to the video release the incident was positioned as just another black man assaulting a cop and sadly getting what he deserved, is about as protest-worthy as it gets. If Scott had been white or any other color, all other factors the same, I'd sure as hell expect protests too.

I don't agree with every protestor's take, but I too protest murder and cover-up by police and think it would be dangerous to instead write it off as "police just being police, same as it ever was".

Anyway, things are in fact changing. Citizens are taking videos more often and helping to ensure cops aren't immune from criminal charges. More cops are wearing cameras. More people are speaking out loudly against police brutality and deception. Police forces are having to answer for the crimes and lies of their worst employees and actively work to weed them out. Police chiefs are taking action against officers who express disdain for their community members and desire to inflict violence upon them. All changes for the better, in my opinion.

[Duchess]

The shooter isn't the only guilty party. Him and his attorney spent 2 days spinning the story that he feared for his life and had no choice but to shoot. They only stopped when the video came to light. Other cops, I don't know how many, had said they attempted CPR when they came upon the scene. That's not true and if they signed documents relating to this shooting and their attempts at saving Walter then they need to pay a price as well. Hells Bells, the shooter attempted to frame Walter by dropping the taser next to Walter's dead body right in front of another cop. He needs to pay the consequences for his role in the attempted cover up. Lying bastards.

[HairOfTheDog]

The shooter isn't the only guilty party. Him and his attorney spent 2 days spinning the story that he feared for his life and had no choice but to shoot. They only stopped when the video came to light.

Yeah, it's troubling that video is sometimes required in order to get to the truth of what happened, even with multiple officers on the scene at various time. Body cams for all cops -- sooner than later -- that's what I wanna see.

Anyway, I agree with you -- if other officers conspired to create a false narrative and cover up the murder, they should face appropriate charges too.

And, I completely understand citizens protesting what they see as a system of policing that enables such conduct; conduct that was only exposed because a community member happened to stumble upon the scene with a recorder.

Sure, swift arrest and prosecution of the shooting officer is appropriate and most everybody seems to recognize that it was only the right thing for the Mayor and the Chief to do. The video was out in the public eye already when that appropriate action was taken -- anything less than arrest on murder charges would have been viewed as career-ending incompetence by a lot of people, myself included.

I agree with protestors who assert that those appropriate actions would not likely have occurred without the witness' video; that the system requires investigation to ensure it doesn't enable such brutality when there's no one with a camera around.

[HairOfTheDog]

The video-taping witness, Feidin Santana ^ told NBC's "Today" that 50-year-old Walter Scott was trying to get away from Officer Slager's Taser when he was shot dead on Saturday.

The 23-year-old, who is originally from the Dominican Republic, had been walking to the barber shop where he works last Saturday morning along his usual route when he saw Mr Scott being chased by the cop.

He said he knew that Officer Slager tasered Scott because he heard the sound and the victim yelling out. Mr Santana said he did not hear the officer yell stop before he fired eight shots at Scott.

The witness continued to film and moved closer to where the victim was lying lifeless on the ground. Mr Santana said that Officer Slager was aware he was at the scene.

'Maybe he could feel that somebody was there. I wanted him to know that he was not by himself,' he said.

The 23-year-old witness said that he did not see any officer perform CPR on Scott. He saw Slager check for a pulse and a second officer, life up the victim's shirt to look at the wounds.

Mr Santana said he decided to reach out to the Scott family with the tape of their loved one's death - which contradicted the police report that Slager filed on the incident.

'I thought about his position, their situation ... If I were to have a family member that would happen [to], I would like to know the truth,' he told NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt.

'Mr. Scott didn't deserve this, and there were other ways that can be used to get him arrested, and that wasn't the proper way to do that.'

[Jimbone]

The increase and prevalence of high quality video being captured on phones is a positive development when things like this happen. Clearly the officer lied, then had his attorney lying for him until the video was given to police. Add body cameras to the mix and nearly every incident will be reviewable in some way shape or form, which is a good thing. As Warner Wolf used to say, 'Let's go to the videotape!'.

None of the other officers were around or on scene when the shooting occurred, so I'll hold off on them for now... there are at least 40 seconds after the shooting before the second officer arrives on scene. If any of them submitted a report that somehow corroborated Slager's events of the shooting I'd be surprised. If they did, they deserve what they get.

The only thing they should have written were his statements (which would have been Slager lying to other officers) to them because he was alone at the time of the shooting. So if they did that, they are not lying or corroborating anything... they are supplementing the arresting officers report with what they were told immediately following the incident.

Don't know what to make of the CPR thing, given that an autopsy would show if it wasn't performed. Bodies that have CPR performed on them show obvious signs of it, and most officers should know that. The first video does stop, and it then resumes later. When it resumes, several officers are clearly treating the gunshot wounds with urgency. That leads me to believe that Mr. Scott's heart was still beating at the time, so that is why they weren't doing CPR. It's conceivable that CPR was started on the scene and not captured by the bystanders video - although he has said they never did CPR. An autopsy should show if that is truly the case.

I also noticed that it appears whatever Slager dropped near the body at 1:33 he also might pick up and put in his belt at 2:11. Could be something else, though he appears to holster it. The other officer may not have seen it being dropped or picked up, as he seems much more focused on Mr. Scott and directing others to the scene.

[Blindgreed1]

Easy there User. You're going to get HoTD whipped up into a froth again with that kind of talk.

There's no froth, Gunnar, but keep trying.

User expresses her opinion and makes her points.

I understand her point on this one -- NC police seem to be responding swiftly and appropriately to a wrongful death at the hands of one of their police officers.

I haven't had time to read the latest news yet, so I don't know if the protestors are protesting the shooting itself as opposed to the police handling of the matter. I could understand the former.
In any event, protests and demonstrations don't froth me up like they do you and some others -- that's just the way it is...

So... You believe the protestors should protest the way the police are appropriately handling the situation. Gotcha. Makes perfect sense.

[Maggot]

I think a little rioting is in order here.

[HairOfTheDog]

Easy there User. You're going to get HoTD whipped up into a froth again with that kind of talk.

There's no froth, Gunnar, but keep trying.

User expresses her opinion and makes her points.

I understand her point on this one -- NC police seem to be responding swiftly and appropriately to a wrongful death at the hands of one of their police officers.

I haven't had time to read the latest news yet, so I don't know if the protestors are protesting the shooting itself as opposed to the police handling of the matter. I could understand the former.
In any event, protests and demonstrations don't froth me up like they do you and some others -- that's just the way it is...

So... You believe the protestors should protest the way the police are appropriately handling the situation. Gotcha. Makes perfect sense.

I like you Gunnar. But, seriously, I posted a very clear comment this morning which answers your off-base rhetorical question. I can't make the point any clearer than I did, and you still couldn't grasp it or don't want to. I'm not gonna repeat it or highlight the post for you. Missing the point and seeing what you want to see is a pattern for you, from my observation.

Yesterday you whipped yourself into a froth with your first post in this thread. In so doing, it doesn't appear you even read the thread title or were able to make the connection. So, your ranting reaction to a portion of my response to it was amusing to me, albeit misdirected.

Anyway, I can't make you read or comprehend and I'm not interested in changing your views, just expressing mine. So, we can leave it at that.

[Blindgreed1]

Easy there User. You're going to get HoTD whipped up into a froth again with that kind of talk.

There's no froth, Gunnar, but keep trying.

User expresses her opinion and makes her points.

I understand her point on this one -- NC police seem to be responding swiftly and appropriately to a wrongful death at the hands of one of their police officers.

I haven't had time to read the latest news yet, so I don't know if the protestors are protesting the shooting itself as opposed to the police handling of the matter. I could understand the former.
In any event, protests and demonstrations don't froth me up like they do you and some others -- that's just the way it is...

So... You believe the protestors should protest the way the police are appropriately handling the situation. Gotcha. Makes perfect sense.

I like you Gunnar. But, seriously, I posted a very clear comment this morning which answers your off-base rhetorical question. I can't make the point any clearer than I did, and you still couldn't grasp it or don't want to. I'm not gonna repeat it or highlight the post for you. Missing the point and seeing what you want to see is a pattern for you, from my observation.

Yesterday you whipped yourself into a froth with your first post in this thread. In so doing, it doesn't appear you even read the thread title and made the connection. So, your ranting reaction to a portion of my response to it was amusing to me, albeit misdirected.

Anyway, I can't make you read or comprehend and I'm not interested in changing your views, just expressing mine. So, we can leave it at that.

Yeah, your post I quoted wasn't contradictory at all. It's all on me. Clearly.

[Maggot]

HOTD is one smart cookie, I would love to duel using bananas with her.

[Blindgreed1]

HOTD is one smart cookie, I would love to duel using bananas with her.

I doubt she'd be in favor of protesting that.