Walter Scott Killer Charged! Demonstrations Scheduled! Did I Miss Something?

Justice was served and I hope former South Carolina Officer Michael Slager gets everything that is coming to him. But let me be clear, I think it’s wrong to assume the only way this officer would have been charged with murder is because of a video that impugns the integrity of South Carolina Police Department.

A screen shot from the video that shows the shooting death of #WalterScott pic.twitter.com/Hu1bB7Wy4B

— The Post and Courier (@postandcourier) April 7, 2015

Do people think that they would not know that the victim Walter Scott was shot in the back? Then all the appeals for calm…really? What in the hell is there to demonstrate against? The former officer was charged with murder. Now if they get a video demonstrating exactly what happened and they try to “spin” it — then there’s a reason to demonstrate.

This shooting is a tragedy and was wrong but why would people want to attempt to deepen racial division by demonstrating when the law enforcement agencies acted correctly? Police misconduct happens and yes, I will admit that black men and women have been most likely disproportionately the victims of this misconduct, though they are not alone.

Implying that they are not capable of determining what happened without a video is just like saying they are incompetent idiots that can’t tell a man’s back from his front or determine approximately how far the victim was away (and therefore not an immediate threat) when he was shot.

Warning: The following video contains disturbing unedited footage of the shooting.

I don’t have a problem with anyone calling the PD out when they have done wrong, but in this case the investigating agency and SCPD have addressed this serious issue appropriately so give them some credit.

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H/T: TheIndependentUK