Title: Cop Charged With Murdering Black Charlestonian Source:
charleston post and courier URL Source:http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20150407/PC16/150409468 Published:Apr 7, 2015 Author:Andrew Knapp Post Date:2015-04-07 19:52:57 by TEA Party Reveler Keywords:cop pig thug, son of Gatlin, son of GrandIsland Views:15098 Comments:66
A Charleston cop has been arrested on murder charges after video shows him shooting a black man in the back 8 times as he ran away.
The guy keeps running. All misses? The cop fires the 8th round and he finally falls.
It was really lousy shooting. The black guy was too chubby and out of condition to run faster than a speedwalker. He might have collapsed from exhaustion after another 10 steps.
Missing seven times raises some question of whether the cop was endangering the public or property by firing so many shots ineffectively. It was pretty short range against a fleeing (not charging) suspect, a pretty easy shot even by my standards. If he couldn't shoot then, how effective could he be against a competent and aggressive thug?
Maybe we'll find this arises from a lack of competence all around by this cop. Nothing here indicates his competence in judgement or taser use or pistol use at a range of under 30' against a pudgy suspect fleeing in a straight line in slow motion.
Maybe less competent cops do tend to get in more trouble with excessive force. You hear this often about women cops who are considered to shoot people and dogs quicker than male cops do because the women are less physically capable and experienced to mix it up a bit hand-to-hand.
"Maybe we'll find this arises from a lack of competence all around by this cop. Nothing here indicates his competence in judgement or taser use or pistol use at a range of under 30' against a pudgy suspect fleeing in a straight line in slow motion."
Look no further than Darren Wilson who shot Michael Brown in Ferguson. Here we have a giant running straight at the cop who fires ten shots and connects with only half of them -- two in the right arm, one in the upper right chest, and two in the head (by then he was only 10 feet away).
Yesterday, when I wrote about a police shooting in the northeast corner of Illinois, I received some of the same questions which always come up after the cops kill a suspect. Why, some readers ask, must you always defend the police? Why dont you talk about the bad cops who act maliciously? In general, the answer has been that there are so many good cops and so few bad ones that they tend to merit the benefit of the doubt. But in nearly every one of these situations I have included the caveat that police forces are composed of fallible human beings and there are some bad ones out there. Unfortunately, we seem to have found one of them in South Carolina.
In the city of North Charleston there was an incident on Saturday in which a police officer shot a suspect in the back, claiming afterward that he felt threatened by Walter Scott. But a bystander with a cell phone camera captured the entire event and the officer has been arrested on murder charges after the video told a very different story.
A white North Charleston police officer was arrested on a murder charge after a video surfaced Tuesday of the lawman shooting eight times at a 50-year-old black man as the man ran away.
Walter L. Scott, a Coast Guard veteran and father of four, died Saturday after Patrolman 1st Class Michael T. Slager, 33, shot him in the back.
Five of the eight bullets hit Scott, his familys attorney said. Four of those struck his back. One hit an ear.
The footage filmed by a bystander, which The Post and Courier obtained Tuesday from a source who asked to remain anonymous, shows the end of the confrontation between the two on Saturday after Scott ran from a traffic stop. It was the first piece of evidence contradicting an account Slager gave earlier this week through his attorney.
I wont embed it here due to the graphic content, but the video is available at the link above. (Warning: Disturbing content which pretty clearly shows a murder taking place.) Officer Slager claimed initially that Scott had wrested his taser from him and was shot during the ensuing struggle, but the video tells a very different story. Scott was fleeing the officer, but very slowly with taser wires trailing from his body. He was between ten and twenty feet away when Slager unloaded his service weapon into him. Even more damning is the video footage showing the officer returning to where the struggle took place, picking something up (presumably the taser) and taking it over and dropping it next to Scotts motionless and now handcuffed body. Finally, he reported that officers on the scene had tried every measure to resuscitate Walter Scott until paramedics arrived, but the video shows that they did little more than check for a pulse at one point. This paints a picture of not only an unjustifiable shooting, but what looks very much like an attempted coverup and falsifying official reports.
To compound matters, unlike the shooting in Illinois, this wasnt some young guy speeding away into the community with an illegal handgun he had just purchased. It was a slow moving, fifty year old guy with a busted taillight and a bench warrant for some unpaid child support. I cant picture a scenario where you justify unloading on this man.
To repeat, we do unfortunately have rare instances of bad cops out there who are uncovered from time to time. Officer Slager will get his day in court on very serious charges, but there seems to be little doubt that he falls into that category. As Ive said ever since the Ferguson incident, there is a growing body of evidence which leads me to believe that having cameras on all police activities is probably a good idea. (For the record, North Charleston had funds approved this winter for body cameras for their police, but theyve not been implemented yet.) In the majority of cases, such as the Michael Brown shooting, the cameras will probably indicate that good officers acted correctly. But in the rare case of a bad cop going outside the boundaries of the law as we appear to have here then those situations can be resolved as well.
Unfortunately, this incident will be run up the flagpole to build on the narrative that there are armies of racist, evil cops out there. Its equally sad that essentially all of the media coverage including the article linked above still has to begin with a white officer and a black suspect since this would be an equally tragic story regardless of the race of the actors involved. That cant be avoided, but the best thing that South Carolina can do at this point is to ensure that Officer Slager has a speedy, fair trial and, if found guilty, is punished appropriately. Thats the only thing that will maintain the credibility of the police and keep the system on track.
See the 3 minute video at the link. It starts just before the shooting begins but you'll see the second cop arrive and the shooter cop leave the body and come back to it.
Apparently, the cop is a better shot than we thought. Hit his target in the back four times, once in the ear, 3 more shots missed (to endanger the public).
They seem to be trained to shoot their entire magazine of rounds.
Officers are trained to shoot until the threat has ended, regardless of the amount of rounds. This is FACT and uniform for all departments from coast to coast.
If the officer was justified to use DPF, then the amount of rounds are never an issue. I don't believe this officer was justified to shoot even one round... so your above anti LE plug is moot.
Every society gets the kind of criminal it deserves. What is equally true is that every community gets the kind of law enforcement it insists on. Robert Kennedy
It doesn't. I'm afraid you're in over your head on this one.
Over my head?
This officer tainted a crime scene by moving evidence from where it lay to another location. The reason I feel he did that was to allow investigating officers a greater perceived threat by the suspect that he was armed at the time of the shooting... when in fact, he was 15 yards away from the taser.
Defending this pile of shit, puts you "over your head".
Every society gets the kind of criminal it deserves. What is equally true is that every community gets the kind of law enforcement it insists on. Robert Kennedy
#38. To: TooConservative, Fred Mertz, Grand Island, Gatlin (#10)
I'd plead for some leniency. I certainly didn't want him banned.
Restrict his posting for a while and see if that improves things.
He's been restricted to 5 posts per day almost since the day he got here, was also given at least one 3 day timeout and has been asked multiple times to cool his acrimony with Gatlin, Grand Island and a few others. He never answered any PMs I sent him so I figured he didn't care what happened he just wanted to vent against them.
If you want to try talking to him knock yourself out and let me know what he says.
Palmdale wasn't banned he was told by Stone that he was going to restrict his posting, Palmdale got mad and left immediately. His privileges were restored to "Full" quite sometime ago but he hasn't posted in 62 days.
#40. To: Devil Anse, misterwhite, Too Conservative, Palmdale (#39)(Edited)
Palmdale wasn't banned he was told by Stone that he was going to restrict his posting, Palmdale got mad and left immediately. His privileges were restored to "Full" quite sometime ago but he hasn't posted in 62 days.
PING to Palmdale....if you happen to see this.
"You can be my wingman anytime." ~ from the Top Gun movie.
"You can be my wingman anytime." ~ from the Top Gun movie.
Hairy Palmdale is a lightweight, (as evidenced by his
running away and pouting) you sure you want him to replace harrowup?
“Political correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical
minority, and rapidly promoted by mainstream media, which holds forth the
proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end.”
Usually t his would be breaking news on Freeperland but they avoided the subject for a long time - a bad sign for the cop if freepers won't knee jerk support him shooting a black perp.
Usually t his would be breaking news on Freeperland but they avoided the subject for a long time - a bad sign for the cop if freepers won't knee jerk support him shooting a black perp.
One look at the vid and you know that isn't what anyone wants in law enforcement.
Usually t his would be breaking news on Freeperland but they avoided the subject for a long time - a bad sign for the cop if freepers won't knee jerk support him shooting a black perp.
One look at the vid and you know that isn't what anyone wants in law enforcement.
It is more of a prison camp guard shooting down an escaping POW feel to it.
A Charleston cop has been arrested on murder charges after video shows him shooting a black man in the back 8 times as he ran away.
Quick question for the "Post and Courier" (sounds like a S&M publication,doesn't it?).
Is the guy deader because he's black,or is murdering a black in America now considered to be a much greater crime than murdering a cracka?
Why is democracy held in such high esteem when its the enemy of the minority and makes all rights relative to the dictates of the majority? (Ron Paul,2012)
The article attempts to evoke sympathy for the man by showing a picture of him and his family. Yet he had a "history of arrests related to contempt of court charges for failing to pay child support" and was "wanted for arrest on a Family Court warrant".
And those previous arrests for non-violent crimes justifies gunning him down in the street while he is unarmed and trying to get away,right?
You are beyond despicable. I bet you pay big bucks to lick the boots of male doms.
Why is democracy held in such high esteem when its the enemy of the minority and makes all rights relative to the dictates of the majority? (Ron Paul,2012)
I'm guessing that, after the shooting, he just wasn't thinking straight.
Uhhhh,the SOB obviously wasn't thinking straight BEFORE the shooting,or there would have been no shooting.
And this was in broad daylight and out in the open. He could have MAYBE justified it a little if it had been in a dark alley at 2 AM,but he's toast on this one.
Why is democracy held in such high esteem when its the enemy of the minority and makes all rights relative to the dictates of the majority? (Ron Paul,2012)
If the cop's meddling with the scene shows evidence of guilt, doesn't the black guy fleeing show some evidence of guilt as well?
Criminal suspects are sort of obligated to show some guilt. That's what makes them criminal suspects.
Cops,on the other hand are supposed to enforce the laws,not be guilty of breaking them.
Why is democracy held in such high esteem when its the enemy of the minority and makes all rights relative to the dictates of the majority? (Ron Paul,2012)
#51. To: misterwhite, *Hypocrisy and Hypocrites* (#24)
Try to post any truth that goes against the groupthink and you'll find yourself banned as a troll.
You don't have the first clue how ironic that sounds coming from you,do you?
Why is democracy held in such high esteem when its the enemy of the minority and makes all rights relative to the dictates of the majority? (Ron Paul,2012)
I don't feel in the right mood to write him. Maybe tomorrow.
Have you considered getting a Chinaman to come in and move your furniture around?
That would most likely help.
Why is democracy held in such high esteem when its the enemy of the minority and makes all rights relative to the dictates of the majority? (Ron Paul,2012)
#53. To: Devil Anse, misterwhite, palmdale, Y'ALL (#39)
Palmdale wasn't banned he was told by Stone that he was going to restrict his posting, Palmdale got mad and left immediately. His privileges were restored to "Full" quite sometime ago but he hasn't posted in 62 days.
Devil Anse
Whereas his doppelganger, misterwhite, has been posting even more frequently. -- And in the vitriolic, palmey style.
#56. To: tpaine, Devil Anse, misterwhite, palmdale, Y'ALL (#54)(Edited)
TPAINE
Yet when I called out Palmdale and misterwhite for their unsupported claims about majority rule, etc, they called me a troll, and put me on bozo. Hypocrisy anyone?
Criminal suspects are sort of obligated to show some guilt. That's what makes them criminal suspects.
Cops,on the other hand are supposed to enforce the laws,not be guilty of breaking them.
The black guy fled his vehicle into an empty lot. For a burned-out brake light, the cause for him being stopped? Maybe he was drunk or maybe he was holding or maybe he feared the warrant on child support. But fleeing a cop for a brake light bulb is not normal behavior. I've read that the cop did not know about the child support warrant (from another county) when the incident happened; that only became known after the shooting.
The cop tried to tase but it failed, probably the electrodes failed to penetrate the loose clothing this guy had on.
Why did the black guy run? After the taser failed, did the cop say something to him like "Now I'm going to shoot you."?
I think there are at least a few more essential facts we don't know yet. I'm not sure we'll ever know if the cop said something to make this guy start running so he could shoot him.
The black guy fled his vehicle into an empty lot. For a burned-out brake light, the cause for him being stopped? Maybe he was drunk or maybe he was holding or maybe he feared the warrant on child support.
Maybe he kidnapped and ate the Lindbergh baby,or is Satan incarnate?
So what? The cop had no idea he was guilty of anything beyond the burned out taillight,and had no justification for shooting him in the back as he ran away.
Especially given the fact the guy was fat and 50,and would have probably stroked out if he had ran a block. The cop could have easily caught him.
Why did the black guy run?
Don't know,don't care. It is irrelevant since he was running AWAY from the cop,not at him.
Cops are cops. Their job is to arrest,not arrest,try,convict,and execute. This is supposed to be American,not Stalinist Russia or Hitler's Germany.
Why is democracy held in such high esteem when its the enemy of the minority and makes all rights relative to the dictates of the majority? (Ron Paul,2012)