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Killing of Walter Scott

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Shooting of Walter Scott
Screenshot of phone video taken by bystander Feidin Santana, showing Officer Michael Slager shooting Walter Scott
DateSaturday, April 4, 2015 (2015-04-04)
Time9:30 a.m. (EDT)
LocationNorth Charleston, South Carolina, U.S.
Coordinates32°53′57″N 80°00′51″W / 32.8993°N 80.0142°W / 32.8993; -80.0142
Filmed byFeidin Santana
DeathsWalter Scott
AccusedOfficer Michael Slager, North Charleston Police Department
ChargesFirst degree murder

The shooting of Walter Scott occurred on April 4, 2015, in North Charleston, South Carolina, during a daytime traffic stop for a broken taillight. Scott, a black man, was fatally shot by Michael Slager, a white North Charleston police officer. Slager was charged with murder after a video surfaced contradicting his earlier police report. The video showed him shooting Scott several times from behind while Scott was fleeing.

The case will be independently investigated by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED). The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Attorney in South Carolina, and the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division will conduct their own investigations.

Backgrounds

Walter Scott

Scott during his tenure in the U.S. Coast Guard

Walter L. Scott (February 9, 1965 – April 9, 2015), a 50-year-old black man, served two years in the U.S. Coast Guard before being given a general discharge for a drug-related incident. He was a forklift operator, studying massage therapy, and the father of four children. Weeks before the shooting, he became engaged to marry his long-time girlfriend.

After the shooting, examination of Scott's police record indicated ten arrests, mostly for contempt of court regarding failure to pay child support or to appear for court hearings. He was also arrested in 1987 on an assault and battery charge, and convicted in 1991 of possession of a bludgeon.

Michael Slager

Michael Thomas Slager, a 33-year-old white police officer, and native of New Jersey, served in the North Charleston Police Department (NCPD) for five years and five months prior to the shooting. Prior to becoming a police officer he too served in the U.S. Coast Guard. At the time of the shooting, Slager's wife was eight months' pregnant with their first child.

Slager was named in a police complaint in 2013 after he allegedly "tased a man for no reason". Slager was cleared in that incident, although the victim and several witnesses said they were never interviewed. North Charleston police said they would now review that case. In another complaint in January, he was cited for failing to file a report after an African-American woman called police because her children were being harassed. Personnel documents describe Slager as having demonstrated "great officer safety tactics" in dealing with suspects, and noted his proficiency with a Taser.

North Charleston

Main article: North Charleston, South Carolina

North Charleston has been ranked as one of the more dangerous cities in the United States, but its crime rate has declined in recent years. This is credited by city officials to intensive policing. Local residents have complained that this policing includes the harassment and racial profiling of African Americans, including frequent use of Tasers without cause. In North Charleston, whites make up 37% of the population, but the police department is 80% white.

The use of deadly force by law enforcement in the United States is subject to the 1985 Tennessee v. Garner decision, which ruled that when a law enforcement officer is pursuing a fleeing suspect, he or she may not use deadly force to prevent escape unless "the officer has probable cause to believe that the suspect poses a significant threat of death or serious physical injury to the officer or others."

Shooting

External videos
video icon Traffic stop
video icon Shooting

At 9:30 a.m., April 4, 2015, in the area of Remount Road and Craig Road, Slager stopped Scott for allegedly having a broken taillight on his car. Scott was driving a 1991 Mercedes that he had just bought from a neighbor and was headed to an auto parts store when he was stopped, according to his brother Rodney Scott. The video from Slager's dashcam shows him approaching Scott's car in the parking lot of the auto parts store. Slager then walked back to his patrol car. Scott exited his car and fled, and Slager gave chase.

Scott was hit by Slager's Taser. Slager then took out his handgun and fired eight rounds at Scott from behind while Scott was fleeing. A lawyer for Scott’s family said the coroner had told him that Scott was struck five times—three times in the back, once in the upper buttocks and once in the ear, with at least one bullet entering his heart. Official autopsy reports have not been released. Immediately after the shooting, Slager told the dispatcher, "Shots fired and the subject is down, he took my Taser."

At the time of the shooting, Scott seems to be 15 to 20 feet (5 to 6 m) away and fleeing. In the report of the shooting, filed before the video surfaced, Slager said he had feared for his life because Scott had taken his stun gun, and that he shot Scott several times because he "felt threatened".

An unidentified passenger in the car when Scott was pulled over was later detained and placed in the back of a police vehicle.

Bystander video recording

Feidin Santana, a bystander, recorded video of the incident on his phone. The video was subsequently shared with Scott's family through an activist of Black Lives Matter, and later with the news media. Santana said that after a struggle, in which Slager deployed his Taser, Scott was "just trying to get away" from the Taser, and that before he started recording he observed that Slager "had control of the situation". In an interview with Matt Lauer on The Today Show, Santana said Scott "never grabbed the Taser of the police. He never got the Taser".

According to the video, after Scott dropped to the ground, Slager approached him, repeatedly instructed him to place his hands behind his back, and handcuffed him, leaving him face down on the ground. Police reports said that officers performed CPR on Scott, although no such action is visible on the video. The video shows that Slager ran back toward where the initial scuffle occurred and picked something up off the ground. Moments later, he dropped an object near Scott's body. Another officer is seen in the video at that time; he puts on latex gloves and appears to examine Scott.

Aftermath

After police reviewed the video, Slager was arrested on April 7 and charged with first degree murder. He is being held without bail. If convicted, he faces a sentence of 30 years to life in prison or the death penalty.

On April 8, the North Charleston city manager announced that the NCPD had fired Slager but would continue to pay for his health insurance because his wife was pregnant. The town's Mayor, Keith Summey, said they had ordered an additional 150 body cameras, enough that one can be worn by every police officer.

A GoFundMe campaign was started to raise money for Slager's defense, but it was quickly shut down by the site. Citing privacy concerns, they declined to go into detail about why the campaign was cancelled, saying only that it was "due to a violation of our terms and conditions".

Scott's funeral took place on April 11, 2015 at the W.O.R.D. Ministries Christian Center in Summerville, about 20 miles from North Charleston.

Investigation

The FBI, the U.S. Attorney in South Carolina, and the Justice Department's civil rights division are investigating Scott's killing.

The case will be independently investigated by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED).

See also

Notes

  1. Intersection of Remount and Craig. Exact location of the shooting has not been reported.

References

  1. ^ Schmidt, Michael S.; Apuzzo, Matt (April 7, 2015). "South Carolina Officer Is Charged With Murder in Black Man's Death". The New York Times. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
  2. Welch, William M. (April 7, 2015). "S.C. police officer facing charges in traffic stop shooting". USA Today. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
  3. ^ "Walter Scott Funeral: Mourners Pay Respects to South Carolina Man Killed by Cop". NBC News. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
  4. ^ Smith, Bruce (April 8, 2015). "White SC officer charged with murder in black man's shooting". Associated Press. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
  5. Robles, Frances. "Racism Denounced at Walter Scott's Funeral One Week After Police Shooting New York Times". New York Times. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
  6. Ford, Dana (April 7, 2015). "South Carolina policeman charged with murder". CNN. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
  7. Buncombe, Andrew (April 8, 2015). "Walter Scott profile: Coast Guard veteran gunned down by Michael Slager had just proposed to his girlfriend". The Independent. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
  8. ^ "Officer Michael Thomas Slager of South Carolina: What we know about him". CNN. April 8, 2015. Archived from the original on April 9, 2015. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
  9. Schuppe, Jon (April 10, 2015). "North Charleston Man Filed Abuse Complaint Against Officer Michael Slager in 2013". nbcnews.com.
  10. Paras, Andy (November 19, 2007). "North Charleston crime 7th in U.S." postandcourier.com. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
  11. Hicks, Brian (November 26, 2010). City finally off crime naughty list, postandcourier.com; retrieved April 8, 2015.
  12. Alan Blinder and Manny Fernandez (April 9, 2015). "South Carolina Police Shooting Seen as Crime Strategy Gone Awry". New York Times.
  13. Michael Daily (April 8, 2015). "'Taser Town' And The Shots Heard 'Round The World'". Daily Beast.
  14. Simon McCormack (April 8, 2015). "Demographics Of North Charleston Police Department Tell A Familiar Story". The Huffington Post.
  15. United States Supreme Court (March 27, 1985). "471 U.S. 1 TENNESSEE v. GARNER ET AL. APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT". Findlaw. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
  16. "North Charleston police officer charged with murder after witness video released". WCIV. Charleston, South Carolina. April 7, 2015. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
  17. "How video of the fatal South Carolina police shooting reignites the body camera debate". The Washington Post. April 8, 2015. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
  18. "Large crowd attends funeral for Walter Scott, man shot by S.C. police officer charged with murder". Cleveland Plain Dealer. April 11, 2015. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
  19. "South Carolina police shooting: Dash cam video released". CNN.com. April 9, 2015. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
  20. "New witness, dash cam video emerge in South Carolina shooting case". CNN.com. April 10, 2015.
  21. Berman, Mark; Lowery, Wesley; Kindy, Kimberly (April 7, 2015). "South Carolina police officer charged with murder after shooting man during traffic stop". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
  22. "North Charleston officer faces murder charge after video shows him shooting man in back". The Post and Courier. April 7, 2015. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
  23. ^ "South Carolina police shooting: Walter Scott had a passenger". Archived from the original on April 9, 2015. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
  24. "Police Shooting Witness Says He Saw Officer Drop Something by Walter Scott's Body". Archived from the original on April 9, 2015. Retrieved April 9, 2015. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  25. "Coroner: Walter Scott died from multiple gunshot wounds to the back". WCSC. Charleston, South Carolina. April 8, 2015. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
  26. ^ "Bystander: S.C. victim, cop struggled before killing". USA Today. April 8, 2015. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
  27. "Walter Scott Didn't Grab Taser, Man Who Recorded South Carolina Police Shooting Video Says". KTLA 5. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
  28. "What Footage Shows in Fatal Shooting by Police Officer". abcnews.go.com. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
  29. Martinez, Michael (April 8, 2015). "South Carolina cop shoots unarmed man: A timeline". CNN. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
  30. Ortiz, Erik (April 7, 2015). "Michael Slager, S.C. Cop, Charged With Murder of Black Man Walter Scott". nbcnews.com. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
  31. "City takes action against cop who shot black man in back". CBS/AP. April 8, 2015. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
  32. Williams, Lauren C. "GoFundMe Rejects Campaign To Support South Carolina Officer Charged With Murder". Think Progressive. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
  33. "Walter Scott". legacy.com. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
  34. "SLED awaiting approval to release Walter Scott dash cam footage". Charleston City Paper. Retrieved April 9, 2015.

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