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Killing of Walter Scott

Coordinates: 32°53′57″N 80°00′51″W / 32.8993°N 80.0142°W / 32.8993; -80.0142
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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 76.111.172.54 (talk) at 03:21, 10 April 2015 (→Shooting: Edited line citing the struggle between Scott and Slager. Its all in the cited source. Read the cited sourced before you change this line. then join the talk to discuss it. Satana describes the struggle before videoing.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

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[a]
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.[1][2] Scott, a black man, was fatally shot by Michael Slager, a white North Charleston police officer.[1] 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 Lamer Scott,[3] a 50-year-old black man, served two years in the U.S. Coast Guard before being honorably discharged. He had four children.[3][4] Weeks before the shooting, he became engaged to marry his long-time girlfriend.[5]

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.[1]

Michael Slager

Michael Thomas Slager, a 33-year-old white man, 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.[6]

Slager was named in a police complaint in 2013 after he allegedly "tased a man for no reason"; Slager was cleared in that incident. 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.[6]

Shooting

At 9:30 a.m. in the area of Remount Road and Craig Road,[7] Slager stopped Scott for allegedly having a broken taillight on his car.[8] The video from the officer's dashcam shows the officer approaching Scott's car; the officer requests information and walks back to his patrol car. Scott gets out of his car and runs.[9] An unidentified passenger in the car when Scott was pulled over was detained and placed in the back of a police vehicle.[10]

Scott was hit by Slager's Taser,then Scott struggled with Slager, the Taser was knocked to the ground, after which Scott made a second attempt to flee. Slager then took out his handgun and fired eight rounds at Scott. 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.[1] Immediately after the shooting, Slager told the dispatcher, "Shots fired and the subject is down, he took my Taser."[11]

External videos
video icon Shooting

The shooting was recorded by bystander Feidin Santana, who contacted online a local activist involved with the group Black Lives Matter; they contacted Scott's family, who contacted Santana to receive a copy of the video.[12] The video was subsequently shared with the news media.[13] At the time of the shooting, Scott seems to be 15 to 20 feet (5 to 6 m) away and fleeing.[1] 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,[1] and that he shot Scott several times because he "felt threatened".[14]

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.[1] 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.[15]

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".[16] In an interview with NBC's Matt Lauer, Santana said that Scott "never grabbed the Taser of the police. He never got the Taser".[17]

Aftermath

After police reviewed the video,[1] Slager was arrested on April 7 and charged with first degree murder.[18] He is being held without bail. If convicted, he faces a sentence of 30 years to life in prison or the death penalty.[19]

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 is pregnant.[20]

Shortly afterwards a GoFundMe campaign was started to raise money for Slager's defense, however, this was quickly shut down by the site. Citing privacy concerns, they declined to go into detail about why the campaign was cancelled, only saying that it was "due to a violation of our terms and conditions".[21]

Investigation

The FBI, the U.S. Attorney in South Carolina, and the Justice Department's civil rights division are investigating Scott's killing.[16]

The case will be independently investigated by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED).[22]

See also

Notes

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

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h 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. ^ a b Smith, Bruce (April 8, 2015). "White SC officer charged with murder in black man's shooting". Associated Press. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
  4. ^ Ford, Dana (April 7, 2015). "South Carolina policeman charged with murder". CNN. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ a b "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.
  7. ^ "North Charleston police officer charged with murder after witness video released". WCIV. Charleston, South Carolina. April 7, 2015. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
  8. ^ "How video of the fatal South Carolina police shooting reignites the body camera debate". The Washington Post. April 8, 2015. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
  9. ^ "South Carolina police shooting: Dash cam video released". CNN.com. April 9, 2015. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
  10. ^ "South Carolina police shooting: Walter Scott had a passenger". Archived from the original on April 9, 2015. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
  11. ^ "South Carolina police officer charged with murder after shooting man during traffic stop". April 7, 2015. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
  12. ^ "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.
  13. ^ "Coroner: Walter Scott died from multiple gunshot wounds to the back". WCSC. Charleston, South Carolina. April 8, 2015. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
  14. ^ "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.
  15. ^ "What Footage Shows in Fatal Shooting by Police Officer". abcnews.go.com. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
  16. ^ a b "Bystander: S.C. victim, cop struggled before killing". USA Today. April 8, 2015. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
  17. ^ "Walter Scott Didn't Grab Taser, Man Who Recorded South Carolina Police Shooting Video Says". KTLA 5. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
  18. ^ Martinez, Michael (April 8, 2015). "South Carolina cop shoots unarmed man: A timeline". CNN. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
  19. ^ Ortiz, Erik (April 7, 2015). "Michael Slager, S.C. Cop, Charged With Murder of Black Man Walter Scott". nbcnews.com. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
  20. ^ "City takes action against cop who shot black man in back". CBS/AP. April 8, 2015. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
  21. ^ Williams, Lauren C. "GoFundMe Rejects Campaign To Support South Carolina Officer Charged With Murder". Think Progressive. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
  22. ^ "SLED awaiting approval to release Walter Scott dash cam footage". Charleston City Paper. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
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