Last weekend, a white South Carolina police officer shot a fleeing, unarmed black man 8 times in the back, further inflaming race relations in the country and raising fresh concerns about police misconduct. Now, the officials investigating the incident (which left 50-year old Walter Scott dead), have released the dashcam video from officer Michael Slager's patrol car which depicts the moments before Scott was killed.
Via NY Times [3]:
The video begins with a traffic stop in a parking lot at an auto parts store. Officer Slager asks Mr. Scott for his identification and insurance paperwork. But Mr. Scott says that he has not yet purchased the vehicle — telling Officer Slager that he intends to do so soon — and that he does not have any documentation of insurance coverage.
Officer Slager, telling Mr. Scott “I’ll be right back with you,” returns to his patrol car. Mr. Scott soon emerges from his vehicle but returns to the driver’s seat at Officer Slager’s direction.
About 20 seconds later, though, Mr. Scott jumps from the car and flees on foot. Officer Slager follows, saying at one point, “Taser! Taser! Taser!”
Perhaps a South Carolina lawyer who spoke to the Times put it best:
“If a guy runs, officers will chase him. But you can’t just shoot a guy.”
