South Carolina Officer Is Charged With Murder of Walter Scot

[A-R]

Dash camera video released. Doesn't change much, other than show the deceased man run from the car for seemingly no reason. Deceased probably knew (or feared) he had warrants and decided to run (hypothetical speculation on my part).

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[jerry_r60]

I've watched video a few times online and paused a couple places. There is still much info we don't have but I see a couple things that lead to some speculation on my part....admitted speculation.

Why does a guy run for a taillight stop? Why was there an "altercation" that prompted the person to start videoing. What I think I see is something in the officers hand and Scott reaches for it or trys to slap it. I think that's the taser. What we don't have on the video is how it escalated to a taser coming out. It looks to me like Scott trys to slap away or grab the taser and turns and runs. Like he doesn't want to get tased. You see if fly to the ground.

We later see the officer go back and pick it up and take it and drop it near the body. We see the other officer that's looking at Scott look at the standing officer and then Slager reaches down and picks it back up. Don't know what was said, maybe something like, "oh no you don't", or "not a good idea" or "I'm not covering for you on that".

Once Scott reaches for the hand with the taser, almost instantly you see Slager stat drawing. So that reaction can be said to be a self defense move. I could see that. Now following through with that motion and shooting as the guy runs is a different matter. The switch flipped very quick to draw, not so quick to stop.

[A-R]

Above is an astute analysis. Don't think it changes this from a bad shoot to a good shoot, but certainly stats to build the case for mitigation at sentencing.

[jerry_r60]

I had not seen the video before from the dashcam. That explains some of how it escalated. With Scott running from the car to start with and the officer having to chase him down.

The dashcam video first and then the next video gives a bit of a broader picture. Again doesn't justify the officer not holding fire but gives a bit more reasonable context of how things got where they were.
I recall hearing on the news last night that the brothers were saying they could understand Scott running because of unpaid child support.

From the dashcam I think I see the left blinker functioning and then also the left brake light functioning. I can't see the right brake light. What I don't see come on is the brake light in the back window.

[A-R]

I believe the officer says to the driver that he pulled him over because his "third brake light" was out ( typically meaning the one in the window)

[talltex]

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.

[Beiruty]

Simply, this cop decided to do an act that he knew would get him locked up for life. If he overreacted or did take the wrong decision or whatever he wants to claim would not change the fact that one human being was killed for nothing. Covering it up make it an even worse of a situation.

[jmra]

Bad decisions by two people got us to this point. The deceased made a bad decision by running and the officer made a very bad decision in shooting. Ultimately both lives are over.

[FL450]

There appears to be a passenger in the car.
I am not a LEO or trying to monday morning quaterback but wouldnt a safer option be for the LEO to wait until backup arrived then have the passenger lead them to his residence. LEO safety first
As a pilot I always try to learn from situations and apply as there are many parrallels in Law Enforcment and Aviation in the decesion making process.

[talltex]

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.

[Cedar Park Dad]

indeed.

[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;

[Cedar Park Dad]

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?

[XinTX]

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;

I saw that earlier this morning as well. I think at best it would lead to a manslaughter charge rather than murder. But given the politics and optics, I doubt the prosecutor will have any room to budge. If the DA downgrades the charge, the hue and cry will sink his political career.

[stroo]

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