South Carolina Officer Is Charged With Murder of Walter Scot

[A-R]

I know nothing about this source, but this is certainly a provocative theory. I don't believe it exonerates Slager, but it certainly casts the events in a different light that could partially explain what is seen on the video.

Grains of salt etc ...

http://theconservativetreehouse.com/201 ... ser-darts/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Did the officer state this as well? He had stated they had struggled over it, but not that he had been hit by his own taser (or somehow entangled in the wire). Can you get entangled in the wire or does it just break if stressed?

You, I, nor anyone else outside the investigation has any idea what the officer did or did not say or submit in written report because such details have not been released. Anything you've "heard" the officer said is hearsay at best , but likely just speculation.

[A-R]

The officer tampered with evidence at the scene moving the taser near to the body. That indicates knowledge of guilt.

Not necessarily. But it certainly looks horrible.

[Cedar Park Dad]

The officer tampered with evidence at the scene moving the taser near to the body. That indicates knowledge of guilt.

Not necessarily. But it certainly looks horrible.

besides this linky has there been any discussion of this on other sites?

[VMI77]

I think they have correctly stepped up and charged Officer Slager with Murder. There is no justification for what occurred. He was in no danger at all at the time he started shooting. As was stated earlier in the thread, running from an officer is not a capital offense...you don't kill someone just for running away from you. He executed the man over a minor offense, then blatantly lied about what happened and tried to cover it up by picking up the taser and dropping it next to the body. Every LEO I've heard discussing it thinks this guy is a rotten apple that tarnishes every one of them, and they are right.

Exactly. The lying and cover-up should be prison offenses even without the killing. I don't get those trying to find excuses for this. This is a straight up murder on video. It doesn't matter what happened before or during the stop, Scott was unarmed and running away, and was not a threat to the officer or the public. To me the lying and cover-up attempt demonstrate that the officer knew he'd just committed a murder. If he believed it was a good shoot he wouldn't need to lie about it, and lying after a good shoot just risks getting caught at it and undermining your defense.

[mojo84]

Based on what I see in the video and IF the video analysis A-R is correct, I believe the officer may have had legal justification to use lethal force at an earlier point in the altercation. However, it appears he decided to utilize it well after it was needed and justified. When he realized this, he decided to "help" his cause by moving the taser closer to the man so he could justify his shooting him. Therefore, I believe he has an uphill battle ahead and there is a good chance of him being charged and convicted.

(This is based on limited info and I am not saying he is guilty or innocent.)

[VMI77]

I'm reluctant to even post this, because I am NOT a LE basher...I have several very good friends that are LEO's in my city and county. They were appalled by the SC video discussed in this thread. Today I saw a video taken by a TV news helicopter in San Bernadino county in California 2 days ago showing the officers chasing a man on a stolen horse who evidently had led them on a chase of several miles before they caught up with him when he fell off the horse as it reared up. As they officers approached he is hit with a taser as he was laying face down on the ground with his arms spread out from his body. It appears the officers tell him to put his hands behind his back so they could cuff him, and he does so. The first two officers get over him and start punching and kicking him. As other deputies arrive they join in the beating. 11 deputies are on the scene while they are unknowingly being filmed by the news crew in the chopper. 10 of them are shown repeatedly punching and kicking him for several minutes. It looks brutal. This is going to be all over Facebook, You Tube etc...just like this shooting in SC is. In the Sheriff's initial statement 2 days ago after seeing the video he said "It appears there may be a question about the use of excessive force, and we will conduct an investigation to determine if any violation of departmental policies took place". Anyone seeing the video would ask him if he was blind...did you SEE the video? WHAT question is there? There are 10 of your uniformed Deputies kicking and hitting a man laying face down on the ground for several minutes. HOW can that NOT be a violation of your policies? The Sheriff brought up that the man was known to many of the officers and had a criminal history and the chase lasted several miles in rough, rugged country and 2 deputies had to be treated for dehydration and 2 others were injured with bruises and abrasions from falling down during the chase. I assume that was intended to elicit sympathy for the officers actions. That doesn't matter...at the time he was being beaten he was already subdued and laying flat on the ground. It looks like something you'd expect to see in some third world totalitarian country where the police do whatever they want. This stuff has to STOP. People see these things and lose all respect for Law Enforcement and start to view them as "bad guys". I don't know how to link to something but you can just google "Deputies beat man on horse" and it'll pop up.

Had a related discussion with my law school son last night. Obviously this stuff goes on because they get away with it. If those doing it were jailed for assault it would stop. They get away with it because prosecutors don't charge and try them. Much of what's wrong with our criminal justice system today is the fault of prosecutors. No matter what they do or don't do, prosecutors rarely face any consequences for their actions, much less criminal charges. One of the worst known and public prosecutorial abuses was the Duke rape case prosecuted by DA Nifong. Nifong should have gone to prison but all he got was disbarred. Even that consequence is rare. Nothing happened to the Zimmerman prosecutor...only those reporting her abuses were punished.

[Jim Beaux]

Slager deserves fair treatment. I am outraged at the police chief for throwing him under the bus.

Im not sure what happened but based on what Ive seen and read I think he is being victimized by head hunters seeking political advantage.

Whatever the truth is, I hope Slager gets justice.

[talltex]

wow...Officer Slager fired 8 shots at the back of a man running AWAY from him and killed him. If you had done exactly the same thing, you would have been arrested and charged with murder...he was...seems likes fair treatment to me. How is he being thrown under the bus or victimized?

[VMI77]

wow...Officer Slager fired 8 shots at the back of a man running AWAY from him and killed him. If you had done exactly the same thing, you would have been arrested and charged with murder...he was...seems likes fair treatment to me. How is he being thrown under the bus or victimized?

I call your "wow" and raise you a "WOW!" The best way to prevent anti LEO rhetoric and sentiment from becoming a problem is for law enforcement to obey the law and the US Constitution, and when some don't, for the rest of law enforcement to hold them to account, and for those transgressing to be appropriately punished....appropriate punishment being punishment at least as severe as those of us without the training, arrest powers, and resources of law enforcement would receive for the same crime.

[cb1000rider]

It never ceases to amaze me how there's almost always someone nearby to record a video of these incidents.

I'd reconsider. My guess is that the vast majority of these incidents are NOT recorded and you never hear about them.

[talltex]

It never ceases to amaze me how there's almost always someone nearby to record a video of these incidents.

I'd reconsider. My guess is that the vast majority of these incidents are NOT recorded and you never hear about them.

Unfortunately, I think that you are probably correct.

[LSUTiger]

Former South Carolina Officer Is Indicted in Death of Walter Scott

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/09/us/[abbreviated profanity deleted] ... .html?_r=0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[baldeagle]

It never ceases to amaze me how there's almost always someone nearby to record a video of these incidents.

Only when the officer is clearly at fault. Apparently no cameras recorded anything in Ferguson (where all the evidence presented told the story that the shooting was fully justified - but a video might have clearly disproven a lot of the lies we've heard about 'hands up, don't shoot').

Correction. Apparently no one who videoed the event told the police that they had video of it. Nowadays EVERYTHING is on video.

[drjoker]

Not just Slager, but the ENTIRE POLICE DEPARTMENT of North Charleston needs to be fired and then rehired, if appropriate, or replaced. Why?

Well, the race baiting media made it appear to be about race; dead brother, white officer. The article and video you linked to even pointed out how Charleston is mostly black but the police department is 80% white. However, that is NOT the truth. It is NOT about race. Notice how, when officer Slager planted the stun gun, the other BLACK officer said nothing? If the black officer said something, then Slager would've never lied about planting the stun gun on Walter Scott because he knew that the black officer wouldn't let him get away with it. The REAL problem is that their entire police department is crooked. How do I know this? Notice how the audio/video never picked up a heated discussion between the two officers. That's because they don't need to discuss ANYTHING. It was UNDERSTOOD that the black officer would let Slager lie about the stun gun being in the hands of Walter Scott. Since it was understood without any verbal discussion, you can reasonably conclude that the entire police department is corrupt. It is as corrupt or worse than the NYC police department, who accept bribes to approve gun licenses (ask any jeweler who owns a big jewelry store in NYC). Or the Erik Scott incident and the corrupt Las Vegas police department that covered up a wrongful death shooting. 5 shots were made by police officers that did not do the initial bad shoot on Erik Scott. These 5 shots were made while Erik Scott was ON THE GROUND, motionless, with two shots in his chest and NO gun in his hand. Obviously, these 5 shots were meant to kill Erik Scott to cover up their wrongful shoot. Again, no verbal request was made for the other officers to help cover up this incident. It was already understood. In other words, the ENTIRE POLICE DEPARTMENT is crooked and corrupt.

Firing white officers and replacing them with black ones will NOT solve the problem. The problem is power corrupts and there is no accountability for their actions. Police officers need to be ELECTED positions in small towns. In big cities, police chiefs need to be ELECTED positions so that there is accountability. The other problem is unlimited power. Power corrupts. We need to limit their power. In Indiana, a law was passed stating you could use LETHAL force against a police officer if you are illegally put in danger of your life. In all 49 other states, police officers are immune to prosecution as long as their police chief backs them up. It is called "Qualified Immunity". As long as the police chief backs them up, they can literally break into your home on a whim (or "anonymous" tip, often from someone trusty like a DRUG ADDICT), unannounced, then if you try to defend yourself from home invaders, kill you. Police need to wear dual body cams to ensure that if one breaks, the other one will still be recording. If both both body cams fail to record a deadly shooting, we should assume the officer tampered with it and he / she should immediately be fired and put before a grand jury. I just bought a body cam from ebay. It costs $25 and weighs an ounce. There is no excuse for not having body cams.

Slager deserves fair treatment. I am outraged at the police chief for throwing him under the bus.

Im not sure what happened but based on what Ive seen and read I think he is being victimized by head hunters seeking political advantage.

Whatever the truth is, I hope Slager gets justice.

[Flightmare]

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/201 ... ads-guilty

Former South Carolina police officer Michael Slager will plead guilty to violating the civil rights of Walter Scott, an unarmed black man he shot and killed as he fled from a 2015 traffic stop, his lawyer has confirmed.