South Carolina Cop to Be Charged with Murder for Shooting Man 8 Times in the Back as He Ran Away

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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 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.

– From the New York Times article: South Carolina Officer Is Charged With Murder in Black Man’s Death

The video at the end of this story is really hard to watch. Not just because we see a police officer gunning down a man as he ran away, but because he repeatedly yells at a dead body to “put his hands behind his back,” and then seemingly plants his taser by the corpse to cover up the crime.

Just like with banker theft, unless people are held accountable with serious jail time, the criminality will not only continue, it will get worse. The rule of law must be restored and applied equally to the rich and powerful, or we are truly doomed as a society.

Coincidentally, this horrific incident came to light on the same day I posted that: U.S. Police Kill More Civilians in March than UK Police Killed in 100 Years.

Now from the New York Times:

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.

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.

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.

Oh, and just in case you were wondering…

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.”

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?”

This is how:

For related articles, see:

U.S. Police Kill More Civilians in March than UK Police Killed in 100 Years

57-Year-Old Michigan Man Beaten to a Bloody Pulp by Police Officer Known as “RoboCop” for Running a Red Light

Meet Jason Villalba – The Texas State Representative Who Introduced a Bill that Criminalizes Citizens Filming Police

Innocent Army Veteran Framed by Louisiana Police and Prosectors Barely Escapes Jail Due to Cellphone Video

Video of the Day – Watch as 8 Police Officers Fire 46 Shots and Kill a Homeless Man in Broad Daylight

Caught on Video – LAPD Guns Down Homeless Man in Broad Daylight

Video of the Day – This Is What Happens When You Call the Cops

In Liberty,
Michael Krieger

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15 thoughts on “South Carolina Cop to Be Charged with Murder for Shooting Man 8 Times in the Back as He Ran Away”

  1. A textbook case why, next to your gun, you should never give up your camera or smartphone. This piece of shit in blue would probably have gotten off completely with his buds covering up for him if not for this videographer.

    How a police officer can see that film and still keep his/her mouth shut when they see problems in their own ranks is beyond me. If we had any doubts who the Blue Turds “protect and serve”, this should make it abundantly clear.

    The good news is, with this video, he will be found guilty. At that point, the Blue Turd will either go into the general prison population–where he will likely not last long–or isolated as a pariah among the prisons.

    Good riddance to this piece of excrement in blue.

    Reply
  2. the ‘thin blue line’ is covered in blood…..as too many UNARMED citizens are gunned down for ‘ officer safety’……that said , it should put up ‘alarm alerts’ when those two words are used together……and ALL other cases that have been heard and tried for the past ten years need to be researched for lies and non truths pertaining to the incidents….imho

    Reply
  3. This is yet another fake shooting. Shot eight times, but no blood? No way Slager lets Feidin Santana continue to film him as he murders, then plants evidence to frame Walter Scott. Slager even looks right at the camera after firing the last shot! No recoil, no smoke, no spent shell casings flying out of the gun. Another false flag psy-op.

    Reply

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