North Charleston cop charged with murder after video surfaces of him shooting man in the back

originally posted by: butcherguy
a reply to: NYCUltra

Seriously, he couldn't catch this kid?

It is worse than that.
The murdered man was overweight and 50 years old.
There was another officer waiting on him if he had made it to the fence.

He looked like a fat kid running, I didn't even know he was 50. Either way, this is totally unjustified in every way. There are other incidents where cops shot a mentally challenged guy like a firing squad and this was on video. There a few instances where they shoot mentally challenged people that can't pose a serious enough threat to any trained officer to shoot. There was another with a kid with a toy gun in a playground that the cops shot and killed. There are other ways to handle these situations that they are trained for. They are even trained to disarm threats holding knives. Seems too many cops are too quick to shoot.

Don't take this in any way that I'm anti-cop either. I know for a fact that there are justified shootings by good cops doping there jobs correctly, defending themselves in the line of duty. It's not easy out there, there are major problems in a lot of areas with armed gangs and criminals with nothing to lose. It's just that the above shooting do not help the police in any way and make them harder and harder to defend.

I live in NY and I think a lot of people who do not live here think it;s a police state, but it really isnt at all. There are a lot of really bad neighborhoods run by gangs and drug dealers, that regular people have no business walking through unless they want to get mugged or jumped. Police are needed there. There are a lot of good cops around that just want to go home to their families alive after there shifts. There are also plenty of a** holes cops who abuse their power. It's a very tough and tense situation these days for the police.

Just a side note, when I visited Rio de Janero, I had a cop there pull a gun on me!! It was kind of late around 11PM and I went for a walk along the beach. I picked up a stick and was just walking in the sand until I see a figure ahead of me yelling. I got a little closer and saw that he was pointing a gun at me and just yelling. I immediately dropped the stick and put my hands up, saying "I'm a tourist from New York!!" I have to admit I thought I was going to get shot and just rolled into the ocean. It turned out the cop was friendly and told me that it was dangerous for tourists at night and he wanted to be a NYC police officer.

a reply to: Quetzalcoatl14

In the beginning of the video what is it that looks like it gets thrown behind the officer?

More news. Walter Scott had a passenger in the car with him when he was stopped by the police.
Q13Fox

A passenger was in Walter Scott’s car when he was pulled over by a North Charleston police officer who then killed him, according to a police report CNN obtained. The passenger’s identity was not given in the report, but another officer responding to the incident said in the report that the passenger was detained and placed in the back seat of a police vehicle. Scott family spokesman Ryan Julison confirmed to CNN that a man was with Scott and said he is not related to the family. The family declined to provide any more information.

a reply to: Rocker2013

I understand what you are saying and the sad part is that this is just a classic case of what the media does all the time. They attempt to influence perceptions by their presentation of the facts. Which ones they include and which ones they exclude in their reporting.

Fact: The victim was, indeed, a criminal.
Fact: the victim was, indeed, a father of four and engaged. A father of four who did not pay child support, apparently.

Why not just present the facts in an unbiased manner including all the basic facts, instead of trying to paint a picture? There are no longer any true news organizations...

I am already sick and tired of hearing this story. Repeating the story ad nauseum and milking it for all it's worth... I am pretty sure there is other news worth reporting on out there. Unfortunately probably not with the political capital this one is worth.

originally posted by: Stormdancer777
a reply to: Quetzalcoatl14

In the beginning of the video what is it that looks like it gets thrown behind the officer?

anyone?

originally posted by: bbracken677
a reply to: Rocker2013

Fact: The victim was, indeed, a criminal.
Fact: the victim was, indeed, a father of four and engaged. A father of four who did not pay child support, apparently.

By "criminal" you mean he had been accused but not convicted of failing to make child support payments? Forgive me for not seeing the relevance.
He also was tased and escaped being tased to run away.
Which of those facts presented such a threat to society where the officer took it upon himself to execute the man?

I am already sick and tired of hearing this story.

Yah...just imagine how the family must feel.

And as long as we are tossing in facts..

He was also a Veteran of the United States Coast Guard

originally posted by: Stormdancer777

originally posted by: Stormdancer777
a reply to: Quetzalcoatl14

In the beginning of the video what is it that looks like it gets thrown behind the officer?

anyone?

IMO it's the taser he accused the deceased of grabbing. the officer then gets it and tosses it next to the body.

originally posted by: Stormdancer777
a reply to: Quetzalcoatl14

In the beginning of the video what is it that looks like it gets thrown behind the officer?

The guy who shot the video said before he started filming the officer had Walter Scott on the ground and was tasing him. He said you could hear the buzzing of the taser. Walter Scott then got up, swiped at the taser knocking it from the officers hands and ran...although it looked more like a desperate "trot" to me.

as far as I am aware it is the taser that falls to the ground at the beginning of the video?

thanks guys

a reply to: Indigo5

That's what I saw, yellow x26 taser in the hand being knocked to the ground?

a reply to: alienjuggalo

If this is a real video the police officer should face murder charges. I usually side on the police side not this time. It is so lame it does not look real. The officer could have very easily chased the purp down and cuffed him. Looks like there is a high fence around the property where is the guy going to run. I really hope this is fake. If not I feel sorry for for the good and honest police and all people and Mr Scott's family

originally posted by: sylent6
a reply to: Indigo5

That's what I saw, yellow x26 taser in the hand being knocked to the ground?

Ok ...You just led me to a minor revelation after forcing me to enlarge the Video and watch the first few seconds over and over.

Walter Scott never touched the taser. He swiped at the leads and ran. The officer brings his hand down quickly and tosses the taser to the ground behind him and draws his gun on the upswing. Thus the object rolling back behind the officer in keeping with the motion of his arm. What we see on the ground beneath Walter Scott when he starts to run is likely his hat or wallet or something that came off of him when the officer had him on the ground.

So...according to the filmer...the cop had Walter Scott on the ground and was tasing him.

Then either the officer ceased tasing him to kneel and handcuff him or Walter Scott stood up and swiped at the taser leads and "ran".

Then the officer brings down his right hand and tosses the taser behind him and draws the gun on the upswing.

a reply to: LA1IMPALA

Real deal..Google the news Walter Scott.

originally posted by: Indigo5

originally posted by: bbracken677
a reply to: Rocker2013

Fact: The victim was, indeed, a criminal.
Fact: the victim was, indeed, a father of four and engaged. A father of four who did not pay child support, apparently.

By "criminal" you mean he had been accused but not convicted of failing to make child support payments? Forgive me for not seeing the relevance.
He also was tased and escaped being tased to run away.
Which of those facts presented such a threat to society where the officer took it upon himself to execute the man?

I am already sick and tired of hearing this story.

Yah...just imagine how the family must feel.

And as long as we are tossing in facts..

He was also a Veteran of the United States Coast Guard

I would add that it does not matter one iota if he was a criminal or not. The only way police are justified in shooting a fleeing individual in the back is if they are an immediate threat to the safety of others. Tenn. vs Gardner established this precedent in 1985. In this case, I can't see deadly force as being justified and I have to agree that the officer should face trial for murder.

originally posted by: bbracken677
So when do we start talking about the antisocial behaviour exhibited by the "victims"? The discourse on that has not yet begun.... It just isn't PC, ya know?

Afraid I have to disagree here. The antisocial behaviour of victims/criminals is irrelevant. For the most part, the crims who get shot are deviant members of society. By extension, they are untrained, irrational and will act like any one of us.
Police have to be better. They are trained, drilled, instructed on how to deal with various situations and equipped to handle almost any 'roadside' business they come across.

originally posted by: Entreri06
You mean the anti social behavior by people who are not PAID, TRAINED, and ARMED to protect and serve? Right?

You it's fair for us to expect less from those PAID to do it then those PAYING for police services (tax payers).

A crazy comparison! Police should be held to a higher standard, not lower. THEY ARE NOT ALLOWED TO RETALIATE! Period for anything. That's what court is for.

Exactly! Police are there simply to uphold the law as it stands. It's down to a judge, and a jury of peers to decide firstly if the perp's guilty, and secondly what punishment they will be facing.

And to everyone saying that because the US is gun mad their police have to be a lot harsher... CRAP!!!! Any police officer in any country stopping any person is ready for the worst. Guns are not exclusive to America, and, by nature of the job, most of the people they deal with are not exactly of the law abiding sort. So firearms are expected.

originally posted by: WeAreAWAKE
but the fact is that if a police officer stops you and you comply with what they tell you to do...which by the way is the law...you will not end up beaten, tased or shot.

It's strange... here in the UK guilty people are always running away from the police. The police usually go after them, and catch them. I personally have refused to comply with a police officer's instructions several times, and each time the officer backed down because they had no lawful right to demand anything of me. Just because they're carrying a badge, it doesn't mean they can give you grief, nor does it mean they can gun you down and then sort the paperwork out later.

I read a news article today that stated that the cop's wife is pregnant and she will be allowed to stay on the fired cop's insurance until she delivers.

Do all fired murder suspect's wives who are pregnant get this luxury as well or is this yet another perk of playing in the pig pen?

a reply to: NYCUltra

"There are a lot of really bad neighborhoods run by gangs and drug dealers, that regular people have no business walking through unless they want to get mugged or jumped. Police are needed there."

This is a problem because the police choose to enforce mindless anti-drug laws, which thus create the black market for drugs (prohibition). If there wasn't a war on drugs, the problems likely wouldn't exist as they do in those types of neighborhoods, and the police wouldn't be as present to create such a hostile and tense environment. Nor would they need to justify their subsequent militarization on all neighborhood streets.

If police world-wide knew what was good for them, and society, they would themselves not wait for the pathetic politicians to repeal such archaic laws and simply ignore them completely, on their own.

But we won't see that happen because if they did, they would put most of their force out of jobs. Same reason why the politicians won't do it. No votes from cops. That and the fact that they would then lose out on a monopoly for black budgets.

originally posted by: IslandOfMisfitToys
I read a news article today that stated that the cop's wife is pregnant and she will be allowed to stay on the fired cop's insurance until she delivers.

Do all fired murder suspect's wives who are pregnant get this luxury as well or is this yet another perk of playing in the pig pen?

He hasn't been convicted yet, only charged. Yes, with state employees there is usually an option to extend insurance with either the state or the employee paying for a 6 month extension. I also imagine that pregnancy is a pre-existing condition. So the cops wife can pay to keep the insurance until it expires..or depending on union contract the state might pay for it...either way it usually only 6 months. I wish his unborn child or wife no ill will or penalty for this mans actions.

a reply to: NavyDoc

Yes...kind of surreal you need the supreme court to rule that it's not OK to shoot people that choose to flee bad situations.

Gotta be honest...I had a..ahem..mischievous youth. I can't count the number of times I ran from the cops. A couple of times when they would just pause or turn around to radio it in. Not that it mattered much, because after a while they knew me and would just either call my parents or be waiting for me in the driveway when I got home. If not for me growing up in a boring, white suburb, me and a lot of my friends might be dead.

I heard a report on the radio this afternoon that another man that had been arrested by the shooter some time ago has come out and stated that Slager had used a Taser on him for no reason. He said that he was telling his story again because he thought someone might believe him now.

The department whose officer was charged with murder after shooting an unarmed man in the back is taking another look at a previous use-of-force case against him that was closed two years ago even though witnesses told The Associated Press that investigators never contacted them.
North Charleston police spokesman Spencer Pryor told the AP that the department will review its decision to exonerate Michael Thomas Slager of any wrongdoing in a 2013 case involving his use of a Taser against another unarmed black man.
That man, Mario Givens, 33, told the AP in an exclusive interview Wednesday that Slager - the officer jailed in the shooting death of Walter Lamer Scott after a bystander's cellphone video was made public - woke him before dawn one morning by loudly banging on his front door. Slager claimed in his official police report that he killed Scott in self-defense Saturday after the motorist grabbed his Taser. Givens said Slager also used his Taser against him, for no reason. "Come outside or I'll tase you," Givens quoted the officer as saying, adding: "I didn't want that to happen to me, so I raised my arms over my head, and when I did, he tased me in my stomach anyway." In Slager's report, obtained by The AP through a public-records request, he wrote that he could not see one of Givens' hands and feared he might be holding a weapon.
As it turns out, Givens' arrest was a case of mistaken identity.
After being tased, dragged outside, thrown to the ground, handcuffed and accused of resisting arrest, he was released without charge. The next day, Givens filed a formal complaint accusing Slager of excessive use of force. He and his mother say several neighbors who witnessed what happened on the family's front lawn also contacted the police, though they say officers refused to take their statements.
At least two others who witnessed what happened were named in Slager's report, but the senior officer assigned to investigate the complaint closed the case a couple of weeks later. Slager's personnel file, which AP obtained through a public records request, said he was "exonerated."

Link to story

Slager is sounding worse all the time.
Why didn't the Police Department do something in this case? Maybe because Slager isn't the only bad apple?