GUILTY SC - Walter Scott, 50, fatally shot by North Charleston PD officer, 4 April 2015 - #2

[al66pine]

I wanted to quote these posts in full because it seems that people are bending over backwards to defend the indefensible....

sbm

Supernovae,
Thanks for your post discussing mine. Glad you read and considered it.
Key question, imo: in ~split seconds or ~several seconds afterward, whether Slager's continuing belief that he was in danger was reasonable.

How quickly can a person shift gears from
- I'm fighting on ground w suspect who c/take firearm & Taser & use it against me
to
- I'm out of harm's way now.

0.17 sec? 4.1 sec?* more? IDK.

Or maybe the key question is something else?
____________________________________________________________
* Shadowraith posted link to Santana vid, w clock running, showing gap was ~4.1 sec.
from last frame of Slager on ground until he fired IIRC.
From time Slager was on his feet until he fires is ~ <0.17sec, IIRC.
Times = approx.

 

[shadowraiths]

Moorer case is not a capital case and I think I read that this one is not either.

Actually, the capital charge of murder is exactly why I think the GJ will not indict.

Eta ~ here is the SLED document relating to Officer Slager's murder charge.

here is the SC penal code 16-3-10

 

[al66pine]

...Eta ~ here is the SLED document relating to Officer Slager's murder charge. here is the SC penal code 16-3-10

sbm

shadowraith- thx for the^ link. Very helpful.

"SECTION 16-3-10. "Murder" defined.
"Murder" is the killing of any person with malice aforethought, either express or implied."

On dashcam vid or Santana vid,
when does this LEO start to show malice toward this driver?
- LEO talking to driver, asking for DL, reg, & ins? IDTS.
- LEO's response to driver's conflicting answers about who owns car? IDTS.
- LEO ordering driver to stay in car? IDTS.
- physical altercation, LEO on ground, is LEO showing malice? IDTS, it's self defense.

Seems we're back to crucial split/multiple seconds btwn LE on ground & LEO firing.

To find LEO guilty of ^murder charge, jury must find -
LEO formed malice aforethought, in 0.17 sec to 4.1 sec gap, then fired to kill
(not just fire to eliminate threat he perceived).

IDK if jury would find that. JM2cts.

 

[shadowraiths]

It's also a bit much glossing over this as a "breach of protocol." I would hope that there is a protocol against interfering with evidence in a police shooting, but it goes beyond that. The only reasonable explanation was that he was trying to manipulate the evidence to bolster his story that Walter Scott was in control of the Taser at the time, and thus it would be a deliberate attempt to pervert the course of justice (or whatever the American equivalent is). I would hope that would be another charge as that should be a very easy one to prove.

The criminal atty I spoke with seems to think the moving of the taser will be the crux of the case and proof Slager was not in fear of his (or anyone elses) life. I, personally, wish they would have charged him with something less than 1st degree murder, as, imho, that will be very hard to prove. Though, the atty said malice aforethought can occur seconds before a killing. Even so, I still think it will be very hard to prove. Regardless, at this point, the GJ will be the decider of whether (or not) Slager will be indicted.

 

[Supernovae]

I, personally, wish they would have charged him with something less than 1st degree murder, as, imho, that will be very hard to prove. Though, the atty said malice aforethought can occur seconds before a killing. Even so, I still think it will be very hard to prove. Regardless, at this point, the GJ will be the decider of whether (or not) Slager will be indicted.

From what I've read South Carolina, unlike other states, doesn't have degrees of murder.

 

[Woodland]

That would be good in this case imo, if SC does not have varying degrees of murder. The case will be assessed at trial and punishment doled out accordingly?

Imo, if Slager cannot be indicted for anything less than a capital murder charge according to the way the charges were laid - then SLED is doing Slager a favor knowing the outcome beforehand. I think that is what happened in the recent case of an off duty officer shooting an innocent bystander in the head. He was found not guilty of the type of murder charge against him, with no alternative for a lesser conviction - all or nothing. This type of game will only be tolerated another time or two imo, before exploding the same way as the spate of LE shootings.

 

[Deleted member 39678]

Looks like South Carolina has murder and manslaughter listed in it's criminal statutes.

SECTION 16-3-10. "Murder" defined.

"Murder" is the killing of any person with malice aforethought, either express or implied.

SECTION 16-3-50. Manslaughter.

A person convicted of manslaughter, or the unlawful killing of another without malice, express or implied, must be imprisoned not more than thirty years or less than two years.

Looks like if there's malice aforethought it's considered murder. No malice means manslaughter.

There's also involuntary manslaughter.

SECTION 16-3-60. Involuntary manslaughter; "criminal negligence" defined.

With regard to the crime of involuntary manslaughter, criminal negligence is defined as the reckless disregard of the safety of others. A person charged with the crime of involuntary manslaughter may be convicted only upon a showing of criminal negligence as defined in this section. A person convicted of involuntary manslaughter must be imprisoned not more than five years.

http://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t16c003.php

 

[Brightbird]

I usually make a fool of myself when I try to interpret legal things, but I've been thinking about it anyway I think one problem with a lesser charge, like manslaughter, is that it looks very much like Slager had the intent to kill Scott. The question is whether he was justified or not. Malice aforethought also includes acting with "depraved indifference to human life". But, again, I think Slager intended to kill Scott. Where it gets murky for me is if he can possibly show that he believed it was justified at the time, but at the same time if it can be shown that he totally overreacted to the situation, I don't know where that might fall. That sounds more like manslaughter perhaps. Interesting that South Carolina murder definitions are more like Britain and Australia. However, most states in Australia got rid of the provocation part of manslaughter.

 

[shadowraiths]

Wasn't one of them an accomplice after the fact.

You should only charge the person who shot the cops with murder.

Nobody can stop a person from going bananas.

If your kid was just in the car for a ride along.

Would you want them charged with a murder of cops that took place during a traffic stop. Especially if your kid was just there and had no say so on what was taking place during said traffic stop.

I don't think so.

You seem to be referring to the murder of the two police officers.. This case is about Officer Slager, who is charged with murder, for shooting Walter Scott in the back.

 

[Greater Than]

I don't see how getting into a shooting stance and firing at a person's back could be considered anything but malice a forethought.

And then there's the eight rounds. As Scott attempted to run further and further away, Slager fired eight times. Eight conscience trigger pulls=malice a forethought. MOO

 

[shadowraiths]

For officer arrested in Walter Scott death, documents show rising use of Taser

As he drove up to a convenience store early one morning, North Charleston police officer Michael Slager saw two young men standing next to a moped and chatting.

Slager waved at one of them, 17-year-old Tequan Perry, to come to his patrol car. Instead, Perry hopped on his moped and drove away — “at a high rate of speed,” Slager would later write in an incident report.

Perry didn’t stop when Slager turned on his lights and siren. He didn’t stop after he jumped off the moped and ran through some bushes.

He stopped only after Slager fired a Taser at him. When the stun gun’s prongs hit his shirt but failed to deliver a shock, Perry gave up.

Taser use

The number of times Tasers were used or shown by North Charleston police and officer Michael Slager:

2010: 224, 1

2011: 178, 2

2012: 153, 1

2013: 114, 4

2014: 156, 6

North Charleston police​

​

link

 

[popsicle]

CBS News &#8207;@CBSNews [video=twitter;607930633709600768]https://twitter.com/CBSNews/status/607930633709600768[/video]
JUST IN: Former S.C. police officer indicted for murder in fatal shooting of #WalterScott.

 

[popsicle]

Andrew Knapp &#8207;@offlede [video=twitter;607931678074511360]https://twitter.com/offlede/status/607931678074511360[/video]
#WalterScott family attorneys Chris Stewart and Justin Bamberg to address media in separate news conference. #chsnews

 

[popsicle]

Andrew Knapp &#8207;@offlede [video=twitter;607931267062099969]https://twitter.com/offlede/status/607931267062099969[/video]
Slager indictment is routine, expected in #WalterScott case, though solicitor notes she has never handled murder case vs officer. #chsnews

 

[shadowraiths]

Former South Carolina Officer Indicted in Death of Walter Scott

A former police officer in North Charleston, S.C., was indicted Monday by a grand jury on a murder charge in connection with the April shooting death of Walter L. Scott, which was recorded by a passer-by and became a resonating symbol in the national debate about police behavior.

The former officer, Michael T. Slager, had been jailed on a murder charge since April 7, when the video became public. Mr. Slager’s lawyers have so far made no request for bail, and his indictment in Charleston County had been widely expected. The North Charleston Police Department fired him after the shooting, which city officials criticized in stark and unsparing terms.​

NYTimes

 

[Greater Than]

According to the case details, his first appearance is scheduled for 8/21 at 2:00, and his second appearance is scheduled for 11/20 at 9:00.

(Enter the letters and numbers you see in the box to validate and it will bring you to Slager's case info) http://jcmsweb.charlestoncounty.org...1687&CaseType=C&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1

 

[LietKynes]

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-32...cott-officer-confrontation-suggest-armed.html
Slager's attorneys are now claiming that stills from a cell phone video taken by a bystander show that Scott was at one point on top of Slager before he was shot and are also suggesting he may have been armed.

I'd wondered if there was more video evidence... but why did it take this long to find it ?

www.cbsnews.com/news/michael-slager-attorneys-offer-new-evidence-walter-scott-shooting/

The 33-year-old's defense team now says it will present evidence at Slager's bond hearing Thursday that includes never-before-seen stills from the cell phone video that are said to show Scott on top of Slager.

Savage suggested he may not have been completely unarmed the entire time. "Maybe he was found without any weapon on him at the time that he died," Savage said.

Hoping it's not wishful thinking to assume Scott's family will want the complete truth-- no matter what.
I would want to know exactly what happened, even if it made my nearest and dearest look guilty.

If he (Scott) did struggle with the officer, that may have been his own undoing. I wish Scott hadn't run away; if he hadn't -- he might still be alive.

Wanted to add-- I am NOT excusing Slager's actions if he was clearly in the wrong. Any law enforcement officer who acts in an illegal manner makes it difficult, if not impossible, for those police who do their jobs honorably !

It's my opinion that once you grab, shove, struggle, or even place your hands on a cop--- all bets are pretty much off.
Every officer is going to act on his/her training and you do not know how they've been trained to deal with you.
And you do not know what they may have been through .... that could cause them to possibly overreact the next time. For some (deceased) police who have been in the news lately-- THERE IS NO "NEXT TIME".
Just my opinion and nothing else.
:moo:

 

[mayqueen]

Are these new stills taken from the same video we've already seen? Or is this a new video from a different bystander? It's either not clear from the article, or maybe I haven't had enough coffee yet.

 

[LietKynes]

Are these new stills taken from the same video we've already seen? Or is this a new video from a different bystander? It's either not clear from the article, or maybe I haven't had enough coffee yet.

RSBM

Good questions !

 

[popsicle]

[h=1]Defense court documents: Walter Scott had drugs in system before pointing Taser at police officer[/h]
Savage said six police summaries of statements by Slager are consistent with each other and with forensic evidence, including the footage.

&#8220;It wasn&#8217;t just a cold-blooded shooting a guy in the back, and they knew that,&#8221; he said Tuesday.