White Police Officer Shoots and Kills Unarmed Black Man.

[Jax native]

Stop me if you've heard this before.  It is too soon after the "confrontation" of JSO and Cleveland Arms "situation" for me to have words to describe the raw, deep pain I feel watching this video.  It should be talked about and ways to improve the nation.


http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/08/us/south-carolina-officer-is-charged-with-murder-in-black-mans-death.html?_r=1

[Kay]

Simply awful.

[thelakelander]

WTH!

[Gunnar]

The way the man was killed shows one thing: Many police officers feel like they can do whatever they want, including cowardly shooting an unarmed man in the back, and get away with it.

This is an unhealthy attitude to say the least.

I understand that being a cop isn't easy and brings with it many dangerous situations calling for a quick decision, but what is needed is better training (not a 12 week crash course), better selection of potential candidates and definitely more accountability.

The sick and scary thing is how well thought out this seemed - shot the victim, calmly pick up the taser and place it next to him and make sure he does not survive, so he cannot tell his side of the story. Seems like this is not something unusual for the perpetrators, which makes make question how often this has happened before.

[menace1069]

I saw this video this morning.  While most of the other incidents were left up to speculation on exactly what happened due to no video being available, this one captured the majority of the incident. This officer was plain wrong and should be locked up. I completely support law enforcement in all they do and I know it's an extremely tough job. But this is just wrong and he should be held accountable.  The dude had a warrant, yes...from the family court for non-payment of child support. He's not a criminal.  After the officer shoots at the guy 8 times, who happened to be running away from him and not posing any kind of threat to him, he calmly looks around to see if anyone sees him and then walks over to the guy.

This is the type of officer who is a disgrace to those who wear the uniform....this is the type of officer that the demonstrators are protesting against.

[Dapperdan]

Can you imagine how different this would have been had there been no video? All we would have had is what the officer said. Sure an "internal investigation" would have been conducted and would have then found the officer did everything correctly and that officer would be back out on the streets. How often does this happen? All we have is what the police officer says happens.

[thelakelander]

^We would have also plastered the deceased victim's past all across the media, creating a story that the guy was no saint and that the officer had no choice but to hit him that many times from behind. To be honest, I'm surprised he didn't go after the guy with the phone.

[Ajax]

I've seen a report on twitter that claims the cameraman said he was threatened by the cops and was afraid to come forward. I know - anybody can claim anything on twitter, so take it for what it's worth. But it certainly sounds plausible. 

While we're all waiting around for cops to get body cameras, and then waiting for the lawmakers to sort out the privacy protections and rules, we need to remind people that filming police officers is not against the law. Police cannot make you stop filming or make you delete what you've recorded. Yes, they can make you get out of the way, but they can't make you stop filming what they're doing. 

http://www.copblock.org/filmthepolice/

http://consumerist.com/2014/08/14/the-police-cant-order-you-to-stop-filming-them-in-public-or-force-you-to-delete-pics-from-phone/

[Jax native]

The way the man was killed shows one thing: Many police officers feel like they can do whatever they want, including cowardly shooting an unarmed man in the back, and get away with it.

This is an unhealthy attitude to say the least.

I understand that being a cop isn't easy and brings with it many dangerous situations calling for a quick decision, but what is needed is better training (not a 12 week crash course), better selection of potential candidates and definitely more accountability.

The sick and scary thing is how well thought out this seemed - shot the victim, calmly pick up the taser and place it next to him and make sure he does not survive, so he cannot tell his side of the story. Seems like this is not something unusual for the perpetrators, which makes make question how often this has happened before.

I agree with these.  I'm sickened by the way the cop calmly put his gun back in the holster, then yells at the man, clearly dead, to put his "hands in the back". Pulling the dead mans hands to his back to handcuff him.  He walks slowly back to Taser and throws it on the ground.  This does not seem like this was his first.  It was too calm and control like he was the shooting range.  Disgusting.

How many people have experienced this?  No wonder he was running from the cops.  He was scare of them, as I am.

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

Just to put this out there, and in no way am I even remotely trying to justify the cop's response and based on what I saw, I hope he receives a punishment commensurate with his actions.  On the flip side and from more experiences in dealing with LEO than I'd like to mention, I've never been hit, tazed, shot, etc....

Is it because I'm white or is it because I never ran, fought back or resisted? 

Was the guy going to end up going to jail for failure to pay child support again?  Probably, but while not making him a 'criminal' per se, he knew what was coming and made a really bad decision.  The cop just exponentially amplified that bad decision with another horrible decision and now 2 people's lives are forever changed and the collateral damage is incalculable.

So I think about that every time I read one of these articles.  And since memories tend to run a little short and people sometimes read what they want and not what was written, I'm going to repeat myself:

"...in no way am I even remotely trying to justify the cop's response and based on what I saw, I hope he receives a punishment commensurate with his actions."

[Ajax]

Just to put this out there, and in no way am I even remotely trying to justify the cop's response and based on what I saw, I hope he receives a punishment commensurate with his actions.  On the flip side and from more experiences in dealing with LEO than I'd like to mention, I've never been hit, tazed, shot, etc....

Is it because I'm white or is it because I never ran, fought back or resisted? 

Was the guy going to end up going to jail for failure to pay child support again?  Probably, but while not making him a 'criminal' per se, he knew what was coming and made a really bad decision.  The cop just exponentially amplified that bad decision with another horrible decision and now 2 people's lives are forever changed and the collateral damage is incalculable.

So I think about that every time I read one of these articles.  And since memories tend to run a little short and people sometimes read what they want and not what was written, I'm going to repeat myself:

"...in no way am I even remotely trying to justify the cop's response and based on what I saw, I hope he receives a punishment commensurate with his actions."

The cop pulled the man over for having a tail light out.  As the guy was pulling into the parking lot of an auto parts store.  I think this issue is larger than just some random black guy who hadn't paid his child support. 

Sure he shouldn't have run, and sure he should have paid his child support.  I don't want to live somewhere where those offenses are punishable by death.  Poor judgement on the part of a cop should mean that someone gets pulled over when they shouldn't, or they use their police car when they shouldn't.  It shouldn't mean that someone loses their life, and then the cop tries to cover it up by picking up the taser and putting it on the ground next to a handcuffed, dying man. 

I'm a white guy too and I have never resisted a cop, but this should outrage all of us.  Given some of the recent killings and other misbehavior by cops that have received so much coverage, why should be surprised that a black guy ran away from a cop? 

[Gunnar]

Is it because I'm white or is it because I never ran, fought back or resisted? 

Same here - I was always as polite an nonthreatening as possible no matter how annoying I found the cop to be (although in the majority of the cases they were acting correctly).

Then again, I never saw police as a lethal threat, so my mind set was accordingly.

However, how do you react in the face of people that you see as going to potentially harass, rough you up or even kill you no matter how you behave- just because they can and will get away with this. I think most of us would either fight or try and run away.

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

The cop pulled the man over for having a tail light out.  As the guy was pulling into the parking lot of an auto parts store.  I think this issue is larger than just some random black guy who hadn't paid his child support. 

Why?  I'm not sure of procedure, so this is an assumption.  The cop runs the tag and sees a warrant out for unpaid child support.  Let's also assume that they can't serve those warrants on that basis alone, so the cop notices a tail-light out (suspect IMO) and makes a stop.  The guy, knowing he's going to jail, makes a tremendously stupid decision and runs.

While we're playing the 'what if' game, how ignorant is it to flee after a traffic stop in the first place?  Assuming the car is registered in your name, they already have your information and you just made whatever situation you were in 1,000x worse.

My opinion is that this entire situation and many more like it could be minimized once traffic stops are used in the name of safety instead of as a money generating tool.

[GatorNation]

Can you imagine how different this would have been had there been no video? All we would have had is what the officer said. Sure an "internal investigation" would have been conducted and would have then found the officer did everything correctly and that officer would be back out on the streets. How often does this happen? All we have is what the police officer says happens.

Actually, we don't even have to imagine.  Here's what was reported on Saturday (before anyone knew a video existed):

"A statement released by North Charleston police spokesman Spencer Pryor said a man ran on foot from the traffic stop and an officer deployed his department-issued Taser in an attempt to stop him.

That did not work, police said, and an altercation ensued as the men struggled over the device. Police allege that during the struggle the man gained control of the Taser and attempted to use it against the officer.

The officer then resorted to his service weapon and shot him, police alleged.

It was not immediately clear how many times Scott had been shot or where on his body he was wounded.

Officers tried to revive him prior to the arrival of paramedics, police said. But their efforts were in vain."

[Ajax]

The cop pulled the man over for having a tail light out.  As the guy was pulling into the parking lot of an auto parts store.  I think this issue is larger than just some random black guy who hadn't paid his child support. 

Why?  I'm not sure of procedure, so this is an assumption.  The cop runs the tag and sees a warrant out for unpaid child support.  Let's also assume that they can't serve those warrants on that basis alone, so the cop notices a tail-light out (suspect IMO) and makes a stop.  The guy, knowing he's going to jail, makes a tremendously stupid decision and runs.

While we're playing the 'what if' game, how ignorant is it to flee after a traffic stop in the first place?  Assuming the car is registered in your name, they already have your information and you just made whatever situation you were in 1,000x worse.

I am playing 'what if' - I'm just grasping at straws.  For some reason this has affected me in a way that some of the other incidents have not - I don't know why. It is heartbreaking to watch that video.  There is nothing that man has done that justifies what happened. Wait, it would be heartbreaking if that was a dog.  That was a human being.  It's a goddamn outrage. 

I don't know what procedure is either, but if I was a cop and I wasn't looking to bust somebody's balls, I would probably leave the guy alone and let him go inside the store and get his light fixed.  I didn't even know they could put you in jail for not paying child support.  Does that sound reasonable?  (For the record - you're not defending killer cops and I'm not defending deadbeat dads.)  People with lower socioeconomic status tend to owe money - child support, bills, unpaid parking fines, municipal liens.  Is it reasonable to throw all of those people in jail?  Fines, court appearances, jail time - how is the person supposed to hold onto a job so that they can pay all of these bills?  The cop is just doing his job, but is it necessary? 

I've just read enough stories of black Americans getting harassed by cops for bullshit reasons.  I'm sure the cop had every 'by the book' reason to pull the guy over - that's why they're in favor of seatbelt laws and no-texting laws.  I cannot defend the dead guy's actions at all.  I still hold the cop to a much higher standard because we give them so much power and I expect them to use their discretion.  If black men are dying on a regular basis during routine police interventions, then how do we as a society make sure that there are fewer interventions like this? 

My opinion is that this entire situation and many more like it could be minimized once traffic stops are used in the name of safety instead of as a money generating tool.

On this, we definitely agree.