Posted on 04/07/2015 4:24:56 PM PDT by GrandJediMasterYoda
Cop charged with murder of motorist after jarring video surfaces
CHARLESTON, S.C. — A white South Carolina police officer has been charged with murder in the shooting death of a black motorist after a traffic stop. North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey told a hastily called news conference that city Patrolman Michael Thomas Slager was arrested and charged Tuesday after law enforcement officials saw a video of the shooting following a Saturday traffic stop. Authorities say the victim, 50-year-old Walter Lamer Scott of Charleston, was shot after the officer already hit him with a stun gun.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Here’s a longer video showing the cop picking up the stun gun and dropping it by the body. This cop is mince meat. You stop the guy for a broken tail light and you shoot him dead while he is running away with his back turned and then you try to plant evidence? Goood bye.
http://www.thestate.com/news/local/crime/article17779277.html
Yep, I could see a jury finding first degree murder or manslaughter. Clearly the criminal in what we see was wearing blue.
A few details:
1) The typical police Taser comes in two models, one with a 15 foot range, and the other with a 25 foot range.
2) Police Tasers typically have counters on them that show how often the probes have been fired, and how many (completed circuit) electrical shocks have been used. (Multiple shocks can go through the same probes.)
3) Notice how the officer is still yelling commands at the man either incapacitated or perhaps already dead. This is a bizarre phenomenon often done by police for some arcane legal reason. It is often seen as police yelling “stop resisting!” at someone who is fully cooperative.
I suspect it is to create a false impression among witnesses that the person under control actually was resisting, even if they were incapacitated or dead, along the lines of a bully using one of his victim’s own hands to hit the victim, while yelling, “Stop hitting yourself!”
The worry for what could happen ended when Scott dropped the stun gun and ran. At that point he could not be reasonably considered dangerous. Rather than give chase the cop executed him, likely as revenge for the scuffle.
When a cop murders someone, I sure hope the city would treat the family with deference.
For a private citizen in the state of Washington, if the guy had grabbed and stolen a taser (or item of similar worth) from the citizen it would be a justifiable shoot. (From the legal stand point, but not what I would choose to do). I’m not so sure a cop could though. (The law is more restrictive on cops to use their weapon).
But if the taser was dropped by the guy and he was running away, as appears in this case if the cop had to go back and pick up the taser, it would be murder.
A picture of the man who died.
https://mgtvwate.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/ht_walter_lamer_scott_02_jc_150407_4x3_992.jpg
The video shows no fight, no weapon in the victim’s hands, and the cop unloading his weapon calmly from a distance into the victim’s back. It’s murder, regardless of whether the shooter is a cop or not.
.
what you don’t see is the physical altercation between cop and perp prior to the shooting!!
Cops are allowed more reasons for using deadly force than we mere civilians. Not saying the shooting was justified, just saying that cops don’t need to perceive any imminent threat to themselves or others in order to justify use of deadly force.
the cop was no longer in imminent danger
Not enough info here, but if the guy had the cop’s tazer the shooting might have been justified as the cop has a duty to try to protect not just himself, but others. If the guy didn’t have a weapon than its a different story.
that video was so unclear....nothing could be determined...
I don’t need to see it! The victim’s weapon (apparently, the Taser) was on the ground *before* he started running. The cop stood there, shot him in the back until he dropped, and then walked over and evidently put the Taser with the victim.
MURDER 1.
So the deceased dropped the stun gun (perhaps grabbing the wires just to try to break the circuit?), and the cop shoots him, then plants the gun on him? If that is what happened, yeah - this cop should spent the rest of his life in prison in general population.
The one thing that came out of Ferguson and Obama’s national police policy thing that I tend to agree with is body cams for the cops. MAYBE it will keep everybody a bit more honest.
The guy didn’t have the taser, but the cop did go back and get it, and then drop it next to the body.
BUT WHEN will civilians just S T O P when told to???
“just saying that cops don’t need to perceive any imminent threat to themselves or others in order to justify use of deadly force”.
What?
“That justifies shooting an unarmed man in the back as he was running away?”
Just to clarify - so, if you can open up a little distance and outrun the cop, you can do anything first?
See my reply #13.
The big $$$$ lawsuit is not going to do him any good.
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