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.
Jeez, as if there aren't enough incidents with police brutality. I can already hear a flurry of new riots/protests from the Ferguson crowd.
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.
Jeez, as if there aren't enough incidents with police brutality. I can already hear a flurry of new riots/protests from the Ferguson crowd.
I don't think that'll happen. The protests flare up when there's a lack of investigation.
I can already hear a flurry of new riots/protests from the Ferguson crowd.
It's amazing to me how people can so fundamentally misunderstand the Ferguson issue.
This shooting was a tragedy, but there is clear video evidence of the cop's actions. The only issue would be if the cop is somehow acquitted despite pretty clear evidence of the cop planting evidence and shooting an unarmed suspect.
I can already hear a flurry of new riots/protests from the Ferguson crowd.
Also from the original posts article
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.
Your post confuses me. First are protests in response to an injustice a bad thing? Three officers apparently signed off on a report that said CPR was performed when it clearly was not. Best case scenario the two later arriving officers just took Officer Slager's word that he had performed CPR and signed off on it. Second like imabusinessman said in this clear cut case of police brutality the murder charges against Slager are exactly what the so called "Ferguson crowd" would want, so why would they protest/riot?
I can already hear a flurry of new riots/protests from the Ferguson crowd.
It's amazing to me how people can so fundamentally misunderstand the Ferguson issue.
This shooting was a tragedy, but there is clear video evidence of the cop's actions. The only issue would be if the cop is somehow acquitted despite pretty clear evidence of the cop planting evidence and shooting an unarmed suspect.
Not to mention that you have the mayor (who is not black) coming on television after saying the cop was wrong, and that just because he's a cop doesn't mean he gets a free pass. That's the opposite of the "circle the wagons" mentality that's been seen in other cases. That is commendable and likely contributed to diffusing much of the tension and potential fallout.
I'm not up on all the intimate details but it looks like the authorities handled this incident the right way, at least since the video surfaced. They appear to be taking it seriously, the officer has been charged with murder, body cameras for their officers have been ordered, and the authorities (ie the mayor and police chief) appear to be on the side of the victim.
Yeah, sorry if I wasn't clear. I was not saying that there could be protests due to the fact that the was not handled rightly, but due to the fact that the police brutality incident happened at all. Didn't mean it that way at all.
Yeah, sorry if I wasn't clear. I was not saying that there could be protests due to the fact that the was not handled rightly, but due to the fact that the police brutality incident happened at all. Didn't mean it that way at all.
I wasn't speaking specifically about you, but your phrasing reminded me of my facebook feed where my ignorant firefighter friends will post stuff all the time.
The issue in ferguson was a complete and utter lack of transparency, coupled with a town with systemic abuses of the poor population.
The issue in ferguson was a complete and utter lack of transparency, coupled with a town with systemic abuses of the poor population.
Especially poor people of color, but I imagine not limited just to the poor or just people of color. Also it wasn't just systematic abuse by police authorities but also the prosecutors office looking the other way from this behavior and even actively covering it up.
Jeez, as if there aren't enough incidents with police brutality. I can already hear a flurry of new riots/protests from the Ferguson crowd.
I don't think that'll happen. The protests flare up when there's a lack of investigation.
This shooting was a tragedy, but there is clear video evidence of the cop's actions. The only issue would be if the cop is somehow acquitted despite pretty clear evidence of the cop planting evidence and shooting an unarmed suspect.
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Also from the original posts article
Your post confuses me. First are protests in response to an injustice a bad thing? Three officers apparently signed off on a report that said CPR was performed when it clearly was not. Best case scenario the two later arriving officers just took Officer Slager's word that he had performed CPR and signed off on it. Second like imabusinessman said in this clear cut case of police brutality the murder charges against Slager are exactly what the so called "Ferguson crowd" would want, so why would they protest/riot?
Not to mention that you have the mayor (who is not black) coming on television after saying the cop was wrong, and that just because he's a cop doesn't mean he gets a free pass. That's the opposite of the "circle the wagons" mentality that's been seen in other cases. That is commendable and likely contributed to diffusing much of the tension and potential fallout.
I'm not up on all the intimate details but it looks like the authorities handled this incident the right way, at least since the video surfaced. They appear to be taking it seriously, the officer has been charged with murder, body cameras for their officers have been ordered, and the authorities (ie the mayor and police chief) appear to be on the side of the victim.
The issue in ferguson was a complete and utter lack of transparency, coupled with a town with systemic abuses of the poor population.
TerribleBad at Magic since 1998.A Vorthos Guide to Magic Story | Twitter | Tumblr
[Primer] Krenko | Azor | Kess | Zacama | Kumena | Sram | The Ur-Dragon | Edgar Markov | Daretti | Marath
Especially poor people of color, but I imagine not limited just to the poor or just people of color. Also it wasn't just systematic abuse by police authorities but also the prosecutors office looking the other way from this behavior and even actively covering it up.
Lots of people are attending Scott's funeral. Oh, and the officer has been fired and charged with murder.