Police officers are rarely indicted for murdering an unarmed black man, but in South Carolina this is the second officer to be indicted in a matter of months.
North Charleston Patrolman Michael Thomas Slager was charged with murder after a video surfaced showing Walter ?Lamar? Scott (50) running away from the officer. The victim died shortly after the Saturday morning shooting. Slager claimed he fired his weapon and killed Scott in self-defense, but a video proves he lied.
Slager pulled Scott over for a traffic violation, and the officer reported that Scott tried to run then grabbed for his Taser. At that point Slager stated that he felt threatened and deployed his weapon.
He fired his weapon at Scott eight times. The county coroner has not released its findings, but Chris Stewart, Scott family attorney, told ABC News that two of the shots were fatal and,
“Of the eight fired shots, four hit Scott in the back and one hit him in the ear.?
According to ABC News,
?A murder conviction in the state could lead to the death penalty or up to 30 years to life in prison, according to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.?
The video, submitted by an unnamed onlooker, shows Scott was actually running from Slager when the shots were fired.
In a press conference Tuesday evening,?Mayor Keith R. Summey?said,
“The video is very demonstrative of exactly what happened. Without the video, and that was the only witness there was, it would be difficult to ascertain directly what did occur. We want to thank the young person who came forward with the video because it helped us to resolve exactly what did occur.”
The town’s City Council was notified that Slager would be placed on administrative leave due to the murder. Mayor Summey confirmed that Slager is facing murder charges,
“It goes to say how we work as a community. If you’re wrong, you’re wrong and if you make a bad decision don’t matter if you’re behind the shield… you have to live by that decision.”
A model the rest of us should follow.
Watch the video of the incident:
https://youtu.be/WPUTTtN1NQA
