SC - Walter Scott, 50, fatally shot by North Charleston PD officer, 4 April 2015 - #1

[MyBelle]

And when cops use poor judgement, people die.

My daughter has an interest in criminal justice and wants to have a career in LE, and took a community college class while still in HS.

One of the first things she shared with me is that, when pulled over for a traffic stop, you have the legal right and actually SHOULD refuse to answer personal questions, such as "where are you headed?" " do you have family there?" "Why do you have two suitcases for a week-long trip?", etc. She said you should not answer personal questions just because it is a LE officer asking them.

You are only required to show documentation.

So honestly, the idea that cops have free reign and we are to subject ourselves to them, regardless of our constitutional rights is not only ridiculous, they are teaching against it in criminal justice courses!

No one has suggested that cops have "free reign." They must adhere to policy. <modsnip>


JMO

 

[MyBelle]

I will blame them if what they're doing is unlawful.

ETA: But this is all fairly off topic and becoming personal, so moving on.

A Judge decides what is unlawful.

 

[Tawny]

No one has suggested that cops have "free reign." They must adhere to policy. <modsnip>


JMO

We have a right to remain silent, remember?

 

[Woodland]

Excuse me but your rant is misplaced, imo. There are bad apples in every profession including law enforcement. There are also complaint/grievance processes when citizens feel wronged. But in uniform and on the job, cops ARE in a position of authority. If somebody wants to flee, that's their decision just as it is the officer's decision what next action to take.

JMO

The complaint process didn't work when Slager tased a guy in the stomach - his fellow officers said it didn't happen, even though they didn't talk to anyone.

Officers to not have the unquestioned legal right to shoot because someone is running - giving them that right is part of the problem, imo. Power corrupts.

 

[EllieBee]

If that cop is doing something wrong or illegal, and/or potentially dangerous to the health and well being of my child, she is absolutely allowed to call him/her out on it.

No but seriously. Women have reported being raped after being pulled over. Being sexually violated during a "routine" traffic stop and being searched for no reason. Nope. Unless I'm being arrested, I will not follow orders and get out of my car.

So, no, I don't blame a black man in our society for maybe being in fear for his life during a "routine" stop. Murders of unarmed black men by police officers is way too common for me to expect them to just roll over and do what they're told every single time.

Again, he shouldn't have run. That's obvious. But I'm not a black man in this society, so I have no way to know what was going through his head at that moment, what he's experienced at the hands of police officers during all of those other arrests. JMOO, etc.

Post of the Day. Couldn't agree more.

Also, nobody deserves to have 8 bullets pumped into their back as they are fleeing.

Who knows, maybe this %#$& cop told Scott what he was fixin' to do to him and Scott ran like hell.

And if this was a justified murder, why did the officer feel the need to try to plant the taser next to Scott's body? On video, plain as day. Then he takes it back.

But, yeah, we as free American citizen should just shut up and respect some guy in a uniform...you know. Because.

Rotten is rotten and I don't care if it has a badge. This is MY life. If I feel like my safety is endangered, I will not subject myself to anything threatening, even a LE officer.

 

[MyBelle]

That's a little scary. Their authority doesn't give them to right to kill people who don't submit to that authority. Cops don't get to kill people unless it's in self-defense or someone else is in clear imminent danger. That's not a hard idea to grasp.

BBM. Which is my point. Shootings are investigated and a decision is made whether it was justified or not. In this case, the officer has been charged. Whether he will be convicted will be up to a jury.

JMO

 

[Woodland]

Walter Scott had NO reason/excuse not to follow lawful commands that I am aware of. He was not in ANY danger when this situation unfolded. He was NOT running for his life.

JMO

But he did run - who says Slager had the right to shoot him in the back - 8 shots and not all of them met their intended target. The three or so stray ones could have killed an innocent person. Wreckless on all levels, imo.

 

[LietKynes]

from AlwaysShocked post: "What should the officer have done in the circumstance? Let the guy get away?"



If not 'any danger' comment is intended to refer to time after Slager got back on his feet, IDK, maybe less danger.

But two ppl down on the ground - wrestling/scuffling/brawling - one w. firearm in hip holster, not any danger to him?
Sorry, but two adult men were not in playful pillow fight.

Did LEO have a chance to pat down or frisk him for a weapon? Anyone? Any vid? Any stmt by LEO or wit? Link?
(If so, I missed it, sorry)

RSBM

Where is the video of the ground scuffle ? Thus far I've only watched the LiveLeak video of the incident; and from the start of that clip it looked like Scott was slapping something out of Slager's hands (looked like something fell to the ground at that point ) and then Scott takes off, running ?
Imo

 

[MyBelle]

The complaint process didn't work when Slager tased a guy in the stomach - his fellow officers said it didn't happen, even though they didn't talk to anyone.

Officers to not have the unquestioned legal right to shoot because someone is running - giving them that right is part of the problem, imo. Power corrupts.

Blaming cops for the decision to flee is a bit of a stretch. It's a decision that carries considerable risk as this case clearly shows.

JMO

 

[Woodland]

No one has suggested that cops have "free reign." They must adhere to policy. <modsnip>


JMO

Judges are very much siding with the public these days in Canada - cops are being thrown out of court all the time for lying - especially Toronto.

 

[jilly]

It does get confusing.

This is my understanding based on what I saw on news.

1-Officer approaches car to talk to driver
2-soon afterwards, the driver runs
3-officer does chase him and this is where "tussle" occurs and tazer involved
4-Both of them end up on their feet at some point and the guy starts to run away.
5-officer draws weapon and shoots him in the back as he is running away. The first few shots hit him in the back and he is about 15-20 feet away when first few shots hit him in back.
6-The guy begins falling down and he gets shot with the rest of the officer's rounds as he is falling to ground. All while back turned to officer.


IMO, I think the officer just lost his temper at that point and didnt want to chase him anymore so he shot him. JMO of course.

Thank you Hatfield! Yes it is confusing.

 

[EllieBee]

If that cop is doing something wrong or illegal, and/or potentially dangerous to the health and well being of my child, she is absolutely allowed to call him/her out on it.

No but seriously. Women have reported being raped after being pulled over. Being sexually violated during a "routine" traffic stop and being searched for no reason. Nope. Unless I'm being arrested, I will not follow orders and get out of my car.

So, no, I don't blame a black man in our society for maybe being in fear for his life during a "routine" stop. Murders of unarmed black men by police officers is way too common for me to expect them to just roll over and do what they're told every single time.

Again, he shouldn't have run. That's obvious. But I'm not a black man in this society, so I have no way to know what was going through his head at that moment, what he's experienced at the hands of police officers during all of those other arrests. JMOO, etc.

And not to mention cases of men impersonating officers, pulling over women alone at night, and sexually assaulting them.

Sorry, but I think for myself and give blind trust to no one, including the law, and I have taught my daughter (who wants a career in LE) this, too.

 

[shadowraiths]

South Carolina shooting case will head to a grand jury

Prosecutors in South Carolina plan to go to a local grand jury with the case of the former North Charleston police officer who shot and killed a black man during a traffic stop.

The soonest the case could be presented to a grand jury is May 4, according to the prosecutor’s office. The former officer, Michael T. Slager, is being held on a charge of murder in connection with the shooting death of Walter L. Scott on Saturday.

“My role is to hold accountable those who harm others unlawfully, regardless of profession,” prosecutor Scarlett Wilson said in a prepared statement. “This office does not dictate nor comment upon police policy, training and procedure. I am, however, deeply concerned when those who are sworn to serve and protect violate the public's trust.”​

link

 

[Woodland]

Blaming cops for the decision to flee is a bit of a stretch. It's a decision that carries considerable risk as this case clearly shows.

JMO

Not blaming Slager for Scott's decision to flee - have not seen anyone post that here - the stretch is in the interpretation, imo.

 

[lonetraveler]

Walter Scott had NO reason/excuse not to follow lawful commands that I am aware of. He was not in ANY danger when this situation unfolded. He was NOT running for his life.

JMO

I have to disagree with you. He didn't know it at the time, but yes, he was running for his life. You don't get to shoot someone in the back for running away.

 

[MyBelle]

But he did run - who says Slager had the right to shoot him in the back - 8 shots and not all of them met their intended target. The three or so stray ones could have killed an innocent person. Wreckless on all levels, imo.

Nobody else in this case was shot. The law gives the officer the right to use force to halt a fleeing suspect. He does not have the right to use excessive force. It must be decided on a case by case basis.

JMO

 

[lonetraveler]

RSBM

Where is the video of the ground scuffle ? Thus far I've only watched the LiveLeak video of the incident; and from the start of that clip it looked like Scott was slapping something out of Slager's hands (looked like something fell to the ground at that point ) and then Scott takes off, running ?
Imo

IMO but I think the "something" slapped out of Slager's hands was the taser.

 

[tlcya]

The snark and the off topic bickering needs to end right now.

 

[lonetraveler]

BBM. Cops are allowed by law to make the judgment call. Which is why responsible parents teach their children to respect authority and obey instructions without question.

JMO

Obey without question? In that case I guess I should have obeyed that cop that stopped me when I was about 17 yrs old, who took my license and told me that I needed to follow him down a dirt road off the highway in order to get them back, right?

 

[EllieBee]

The snark and the off topic bickering needs to end right now.

Sorry. Tried to delete my post but it was already gone. I apologize.