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

[Woodland]

Especially when even if he does manage to somehow get acquitted, taxpayers will almost certainly still be on the hook for millions of dollars for a wrongful death law suite. Right now American tax payers are paying out hundreds of millions of dollars a year in settlements for wrongful deaths due to police shootings. But we are not supposed to question them. We should just let them keep shooting whoever they want and picking up the bill for it.:facepalm:

All in a days work it seems, for some LE. Imo, these LE officers watch too many Bruce Willis movies.

 

[Cubby]

I don't like your chances of finding a tail light lens for a 1991 Mercedes at an Advance Auto Parts store.

It wasn't the lense which was broken, it was the light bulb. Brake light bulbs are easily replaced, they snap in and are easily accessed from the trunk. The bulbs are a few dollars and are a standard item at auto parts stores.

They are super easy to change, anyone can do it. Almost as easy as changing a lamp bulb in a house.

 

[al66pine]

"Originally Posted by Elley Mae. Slager is then seen walking up to Scott's car, asking him for his driver's license and registration, and tells him that he was pulled over because a brake light is out.
Scott says that he is in the process of buying the car from a neighbor and does not have insurance for the vehicle. http://www.wyff4.com/news/sled-polic...urder/32239980...."

And the significance of that would be what, exactly?
Police officer knew who Scott was since Scott gave him his driver's license.

Is it poss that a driver would give a bogus driver's license to an LEO who made a traffic stop?

I could not hear entire LEO - driver convo, but without specifics,
it's clear (to me) that the driver did not have the 3 required docs (license, vehicle reg, & ins card.)
The gist was - he said (1) he just bought car, then (2) he's going to buy the car Monday. Which is it?

If driver had given LEO bogus license, then he did not have reliable, accurate ID of driver.
If driver hoofed it, then who knows -could be a stolen car, so contacting reg owner may not ID driver;
and passenger may have disappeared from car by the time LEO returned.

Possible result = no ID of driver.

 

[KaaBoom]

I don't like your chances of finding a tail light lens for a 1991 Mercedes at an Advance Auto Parts store.

Actually it would be possible to find parts like that at an auto parts store. If they didn't have it, they would have simply ordered it for him.

Also it appears that the traffic stop was initiated as he was pulling into the parking lot. Is it really that hard to believe that if he had just bought an old car, he might have been going to an auto parts store to buy parts to fix it up?

 

[SStarr33]

I don't know much about Tasers. Do the ones that LE use have a secondary way of zapping someone? I'm wondering if they have a contact type of discharge besides the dart on wires projectiles.

Yes, according to this article, the taser could still be used:

http://www.postandcourier.com/artic...ot-man-pulled-him-over-because-of-brake-light

Seconds later, the report added, he radioed that the suspect wrested control of the device. Even with the Taser’s prongs deployed, the device can still be used as a stun gun to temporarily incapacitate someone.

 

[KaaBoom]

What do you mean that Scott doesn't appear to have the Taser itself? After he was shot? I agree with that.

Actually yes, it appears that he had the taser AFTER he was shot dead. Since thats when the video shows the cop planting it on him.

 

[MyBelle]

It wasn't the lense which was broken, it was the light bulb. Brake light bulbs are easily replaced, they snap in and are easily accessed from the trunk. The bulbs are a few dollars and are a standard item at auto parts stores.

They are super easy to change, anyone can do it. Almost as easy as changing a lamp bulb in a house.

Yes, it was the lens on the left that was broken. Take a look at the video again and you will see a white, left tail light as Scott comes to a halt. The red cover over it is what is broken. The right rear tail light is out completely.

JMO

 

[KaaBoom]

http://www.postandcourier.com/artic...ot-man-pulled-him-over-because-of-brake-light

He passed courses on how to use the Taser X26 when he was hired in North Charleston and performed well on shooting tests with his .45-caliber Glock 21. Supervisors indicated in performance reviews that he met expectations as an officer and kept a tidy patrol car.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoQYRyQh7cI


bbm I don't see wires on this taser.

What do you think the wires they are disconnecting from him at 00:44 are?

 

[MyBelle]

Actually yes, it appears that he had the taser AFTER he was shot dead. Since thats when the video shows the cop planting it on him.

What it appears to be to me is that the Officer dropped the taser's CARTRIDGE near the body because its attached, insulated wires were still on Scott's legs.

JMO

 

[MyBelle]

Yes, according to this article, the taser could still be used:

http://www.postandcourier.com/artic...ot-man-pulled-him-over-because-of-brake-light

Seconds later, the report added, he radioed that the suspect wrested control of the device. Even with the Taser’s prongs deployed, the device can still be used as a stun gun to temporarily incapacitate someone.

BBM. And that begs the question, did Scott have the Officer's taser gun? Because the item the Officer dropped near the body looks to me to be the cartridge to the deployed wires and prongs and not the gun itself.

JMO

 

[Sonya610]

bbm I don't see wires on this taser.

Yeah, they are there. They hooked the wires up before tasing him and then remove them at the end.

From what I understand it depends on the type of taser regarding whether it can be used again easily. They have to have a new cartridge put in so they can shoot more darts.

Now he could have grabbed the taser BEFORE it was used on him, and then he got hit with it, but once he ran away with darts in him it wouldn't matter even if he carried the taser away with him as he likely couldn't have been able to fire it again with no cartridge.

 

[Cubby]

Yes, it was the lens on the left that was broken. Take a look at the video again and you will see a white, left tail light as Scott comes to a halt. The red cover over it is what is broken. The right rear tail light is out completely.

JMO

Two brake lights on the Mercedes-Benz were working when Patrolman 1st Class Michael T. Slager pulled it over, according the dashboard camera footage released Thursday.
Police officials have said that Slager made the stop because one of Scott’s brake lights was out.



It was a third brake light behind the back window of the 1990 Mercedes 300E that wasn’t working, the video showed.

http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20150409/PC16/150409311


I don't know how to change the 3rd -WINDOW- brake light, I've never had to replace one before.

As for the white light, a white light would have been seen momentarily when a driver is shifting from drive to park. The rear white light is a reverse light, not a brake light.

 

[al66pine]

I don't like your chances of finding a tail light lens for a 1991 Mercedes at an Advance Auto Parts store.

bbm

franker, I'm w you on finding 1991 MB tail light lens there, Short on luck, but that was not reason for traffic stop.

Article w dash cam vid: http://www.wyff4.com/news/sled-police-officer-charged-with-murder/32239980
~40-45 sec into vid, LEO said "The reason for the stop is your third brake light is out." IIHC.
Not the tail light. Not the (regular) brake light. Not the brake light lens.

THIRD BRAKE LIGHT, i.e., brake light on the 'back deck' (kind of a shelf) behind rear passenger seats.

Likely a bulb? Or electric short? IDK. I am not an auto technician and don't play one on TV or Websleuths.

 

[MyBelle]

Yeah, they are there. They hooked the wires up before tasing him and then remove them at the end.

From what I understand it depends on the type of taser regarding whether it can be used again easily. Most have to have a new cartridge put in so they can shoot more darts, I suppose it is possible that the really high end models hold multiple darts though.

It's a stun gun with a cartridge on the end of it. The insulated wires and darts are contained in the cartridge. If Scott took control of the stun gun from the Officer, he could have used it on somebody else.

JMO

 

[KaaBoom]

Yes, Scott gave Slager his license. I wonder how he thought he was going to get away by running? Strange. JMO.

I think he just panicked. Many people in this country (especially African-Americans) are deathly afraid of the police, and IMHO they have good reason to be afraid.

 

[Woodland]

BBM. And that begs the question, did Scott have the Officer's taser gun? Because the item the Officer dropped near the body looks to me to be the cartridge to the deployed wires and prongs and not the gun itself.

JMO

Well, if it was only the cartridge that was moved by former officer Slager, maybe, that might be better than tampering with whole device in the eyes of the DA at time of trial. Maybe. Surely the jury, if there is one, will be forgiving as well, since that would fall in line with his LE training?

 

[MyBelle]

bbm

franker, I'm w you on finding 1991 MB tail light lens there, Short on luck, but that was not reason for traffic stop.

Article w dash cam vid: http://www.wyff4.com/news/sled-police-officer-charged-with-murder/32239980
~40-45 sec into vid, LEO said "The reason for the stop is your third brake light is out. IIHC.
Not the tail light. Not the (regular) brake light. Not the brake light lens.

THIRD BRAKE LIGHT, i.e., brake light on the 'back deck' (kind of a shelf) behind rear passenger seats.

Likely a bulb? Or electric short? IDK. I am not an auto technician and don't play one on TV or Websleuths.

The third brake light is a safety feature if the other brake lights go out. If you look at the video, the left tail light lens was broken and Officer Slager took note of it with his hand as he approached the car and the right brake light didn't work at all. Scott was driving around in a 24-year-old vehicle with no brake lights, no registration and no insurance. A real danger to other motorists.

JMO

 

[MyBelle]

I think he just panicked. Many people in this country (especially African-Americans) are deathly afraid of the police, and IMHO they have good reason to be afraid.

Scott was not stopped because of his race, he was stopped because he was driving a vehicle that posed a serious hazard to other motorists.

 

[Sonya610]

It's a stun gun with a cartridge on the end of it. The insulated wires and darts are contained in the cartridge. If Scott took control of the stun gun from the Officer, he could have used it on somebody else.
JMO

Huh? If Scott had already SHOT with the Taser and the prongs were in him (and I believe they were) then no he couldn't use it on someone else without loading a new cartridge.

Are you saying this taser had darts and could also be used for manual contact? I believe some models are like that.

 

[MyBelle]

Well, if it was only the cartridge that was moved by former officer Slager, maybe, that might be better than tampering with whole device in the eyes of the DA at time of trial. Maybe. Surely the jury, if there is one, will be forgiving as well, since that would fall in line with his LE training?

The cartridge was attached to the wires. I doubt there will be an indictment or trial.