South Carolina Cop Charged With Murder Is Fired
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The white North Charleston cop charged with shooting an unarmed black man in the back has been fired.
With dozens of demonstrators in North Charleston protesting the fatal shooting there on Saturday of 50-year-old Walter Scott, which was captured on video by a witness, officials held a tense news conference expressing revulsion and appealing for calm.
“I have been praying for peace, peace for the family and peace for this community,” North Charleston Police Chief Eddie Driggers said.
North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey told reporters that police officer Michael Slager, 33, had been fired. Summey said the remainder of the police force in North Charleston will soon be equipped with body cameras.
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Slager was charged on Tuesday with murder in the death of Scott, the latest among several police shootings of black men over the past year in cities including New York; Ferguson, Missouri; and Cleveland, Ohio. The incidents have stirred debate across the United States about police use of lethal force and race relations, also drawing President Barack Obama into the discussion.
Police said Saturday’s shooting occurred after Slager, who joined the department in 2009, stopped Scott for a broken brake light.
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Guy Lauten April 8th, 2015 at 3:00 pm
Hmmmm… so far I haven’t heard Faux Noos calling this a non-story, or anybody putting together a GoFundMe account for this officer. I wonder why?
viva_democracy April 8th, 2015 at 3:34 pm
And the usual pig defenders on Twitter are very silent. Only a small handful.
bluejayray April 8th, 2015 at 4:06 pm
I’m surprised they’re not trying to say that the video was altered.
Foundryman April 8th, 2015 at 4:23 pm
they will
viva_democracy April 8th, 2015 at 3:41 pm
Looks like GoFundMe rejected them and they went to another site I’ve never heard of. Have only raised $65.00 so far from three ppl since yesterday.
whatthe46 April 8th, 2015 at 3:46 pm
well, apparently outing yourself as a bigot and racist and a murdering racist is the new lotto in this fk’n country.
bluejayray April 8th, 2015 at 4:07 pm
Gee–they found some scruples!
Suzanne McFly April 8th, 2015 at 4:42 pm
They called the cops action a misstep? He killed another human being and they call it a misstep, tell me that word was not written to intentionally piss off people with morals.
whatthe46 April 8th, 2015 at 3:29 pm
it hasn’t even begun!
viva_democracy April 8th, 2015 at 3:34 pm
I thought he already had been fired when he was charged. I hope that’s the case and they didn’t wait until now.
illinoisboy1977 April 8th, 2015 at 3:36 pm
Unfortunately, union rules allow an officer to be jailed and remain employed. The police department would have to show enough justification to satisfy the union, before the officer could be legally terminated. It’s all about the red tape.
bluejayray April 8th, 2015 at 4:04 pm
It’s also important to do it right. I’d hate for him to walk because somebody did something stupid.
illinoisboy1977 April 8th, 2015 at 3:42 pm
I hope the rotten bastard gets the needle. He deserves no less, for taking the life of a man who was not a danger and was not issuing any kind of threat. This was murder, plain and simple. I’m glad SC is a death penalty state.
jasperjava April 8th, 2015 at 6:02 pm
I understand your anger, frustration, and desire for revenge In the name of justice.
However, I will rejoice when the death penalty is abolished forever.
nola878 April 8th, 2015 at 6:42 pm
And I will rejoice with you.
illinoisboy1977 April 9th, 2015 at 12:55 pm
I can respect that. I disagree with it, but I respect your stance.
Foundryman April 8th, 2015 at 4:03 pm
It’s really sad that another unarmed person is dead at the hands of a government agent.
It’s interesting to note as I read on another thread, this police department has shot 208 people since 2008, many of them were shot dead, with all of them found to be justified.
You can’t help but think how the Mike Brown murder would have been different if there were a video.
StoneyCurtisll April 8th, 2015 at 5:45 pm
Before we all celebrate the fact that this cop has been fired and charged with murder..
Lets remember that this is happening in South Carolina, where he will have to go before a South Carolina jury..and a South Carolina prosecutor..
I have a gut feeling he will be found not guilty…(video proof or not)
South Carolina has a looong history of finding white men not guilty of killing black men..
Throw in the “police officer” kills a black man..
And the odds of a conviction are even less..
I’m willing to bet there has never been a police officer in N.Carolina found guilty of the murder of a black man while in the line of duty.
Hirightnow April 8th, 2015 at 6:20 pm
I have a feeling that you’re right.
StoneyCurtisll April 8th, 2015 at 7:11 pm
And I really hope I’m wrong..
StoneyCurtisll April 8th, 2015 at 5:52 pm
How long will it be before a Go-Fund-Me page is opened up to send money to this cops defense and family?…
There are some saying of the fuggin cop that killed the guy, “his family is now a victim of the events”..
bluejayray April 8th, 2015 at 6:44 pm
Gofundme actually turned them down. They went to another funding site. I was just going to check. It had $65 in it a few hours ago.
StoneyCurtisll April 8th, 2015 at 7:09 pm
Thanks for being on the ball and checking~!
nola878 April 8th, 2015 at 7:21 pm
The silence from the RW media about this travesty is deafening….
Foundryman April 8th, 2015 at 8:59 pm
Watching the video, I see the cop pick up the tazer and drop it by Mr Scott’s body. He did this right in front of another cop. This cop is complicit with the cover up of the murder yet there has been no mention of him or his involvement. Slager was fired, but why not the other cop that also had to write his own report about it?
These types of police killings are widespread and departmentally accepted and trained. It isn’t just one cop who needs to answer for this, it’s the entire Nationwide police policies and procedures that need addressed, coast to coast. It also begs the question of why do traffic cops need to be armed with lethal weapons at all?
jybarz April 9th, 2015 at 7:44 am
One would think this is obviously an open and shut case.
I hope so.
But, given that Police murderers of Mike Brown, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice all went scott free, it does shake your confidence that justice will be done.