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South Carolina officer charged with murder

Klippy

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So this has been the big story lately and it's painted in a clearer way than many of the other fatal police shootings recently - we have video of the exact moment of the crime. If you prefer not to watch, the suspect raises his firearm at the fleeing victim and fires his gun eight times. Afterwards the suspect handcuffs the victim and runs to collect belongings dropped. The video is fairly shaky and fuzzy, but reportedly he picks up his department issued stun gun and places it beside the now-handcuffed victim.

Aside from the sensationalism that comes from these types of cases, this is probably the clearest example of police brutality among the bunch. On top of that, there's video evidence of the crime. In other cases, officers were cleared of charges after court trials and evidence wasn't readily made available to the public, but this is one of the ones that could warrant genuine outrage if charges are dropped or he isn't found guilty. He also has a history of excessive force at the department, but I think this video is damning.

Feel free to read the full article, watch the video (it's not graphic, but it's clear what's going on), and leave your thoughts! Be civil and respectful!

A white police officer in North Charleston, S.C., was charged with murder on Tuesday after a video surfaced showing him shooting in the back and killing an apparently unarmed black man while the man ran away.

The officer, Michael T. Slager, 33, said he had feared for his life because the man had taken his stun gun in a scuffle after a traffic stop on Saturday. A video, however, shows the officer firing eight times as the man, Walter L. Scott, 50, fled. The North Charleston mayor announced the state charges at a news conference Tuesday evening.

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pwnt. I'm not too sure what would justify the use of a firearm in this situation. Fortunately, a genuine investigation will be unavoidable.
 
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I will say that there is the issue of "colorblindness" especially with the election of Pres. Obama. This means that Americans perceive our nation as being post-racial, and therefore ignoring structural racism and implicit forms of racism while overt forms of racism (in public spheres) are condemned.

Now, does this case "speak" to the other cases of black on white police brutality? Unlike the Ferguson case, the man killed had committed a petty infraction involving his taillight...though he could have responded violently and assaulted the officer, it seems like a stretch. Whereas, in the Ferguson case, the victim was seen assaulting and stealing from a store clerk.

Further, unlike the Ferguson case, there is an objective witness, the film. In the Ferguson case, it's easy to say the same thing happened, except there was no film, but among the witnesses there is contradiction.

I wonder if it's useful or dangerous to make parallels among cases, but generally there is little discussion about the SIMILAR and INDISPUTABLE commonality of nearly ALL cases involving white police officers and black fatalities...there is hostility and mistrust of white officers by blacks (especially in impoverished neighborhoods) as well as presumed guilt of blacks by white officers.

The relationship among these two groups needs to be mended, as well as addressing the underlying causes of structural biases in income, education, housing, and welfare. Disparities which cause hostility, competition, and negative attribution among blacks and whites on a broader scale.
 
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Her

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Unlike the Ferguson case, the man killed had committed a petty infraction involving his taillight...though he could have responded violently and assaulted the officer, it seems like a stretch. Whereas, in the Ferguson case, the victim was scene assaulting and stealing from a store clerk.

Unfortunately, you have been misled about the circumstances of the Mike Brown murder.

Anyway, as Klippy said, this is definitely the clearest case of police brutality that we've seen over the last year. Nothing to muddle the situation, as the video clearly demonstrates a murder and an attempt to falsify the reason for it. I'm scared to think of how this can possibly be deliberately misconstrued to justify one's racism, which will inevitably happen and probably has happened already.
 

Klippy

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As far as I've seen (I haven't watched coverage as often as I did with the Ferguson case), most media outlets have conceded that this was clear and indisputable murder. Feel free to let me know if you've seen otherwise, but as I said, I've only seen some early coverage and what I've read online. This is definitely one of those times where nobody SHOULD be siding with the officer as the video makes it appear he picks up his taser and placed it next to Scott's body.

I don't like the insinuation that this is a white/black issue (though it obviously is and falls into the growing list of cases like this recently) because Slager has clearly displayed brutality issues in the past and so I would say that this is a corrupt cop/unfortunate victim issue. This guy should've been taken off the street and fired long before this, so I feel that it's an issue of his department and the police culture of the blue wall. I won't argue that it's NOT a white/black issue, but it's clear the blue wall culture kept him on the streets and able to do this.
 

Sean

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Absolutely disgusting and tragic. The fact the police officer also reported "suspect down and took my TASer" about 8 seconds after shooting him. (The taser part).

This is definitely a white/black issue and anyone who doesn't see that is deluded in my opinion. This would hardly happen to a white person in America, honestly. It's also pretty sad to see that this is such an extreme issue within the US. Did you know, more black people were murdered by police outnumber those killed in 9/11?
Spoiler:


It's definitely a sobering thought and emphasis has to be put into mending racial issues.
 
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Unfortunately, you have been misled about the circumstances of the Mike Brown murder.

Anyway, as Klippy said, this is definitely the clearest case of police brutality that we've seen over the last year. Nothing to muddle the situation, as the video clearly demonstrates a murder and an attempt to falsify the reason for it. I'm scared to think of how this can possibly be deliberately misconstrued to justify one's racism, which will inevitably happen and probably has happened already.

The article is making claims that cannot be verified as true or false. However, whether or not there was or was not an actual theft is irrelevant to the discussion of the investigative context of the officer. If I implied the theft was TRUE and VERIFIABLE, I apologize.

The officer arrived on the scene with the expectation that Brown had assaulted and stole from the store. Though, there isn't clear evidence to support whether there was or was not a theft in court there is support that the store clerk was assaulted corroborated by the video, but regardless, the officer was called to the sight by a store customer under much different circumstances than a taillight.

The Brown case may be more typical since it involved good faith yet implicit forms of racism (such as profiling) which may have escalated hostility on either one or both ends (rather than the overt racism captured by the video in Carolina Case).

The interesting thing about these cases is that the victim is either depicted as a big violent thug or an innocent outstanding citizen...when neither is the case of most people generally. It kind of ignores the reciprocation of hostility among blacks who mistrust and fear white police institutions and white officers who mistrust and fear black (presumed) offenders. The store video of Brown displays anger...was it because he didn't steal from the store and felt profiled? Who knows? Violence should not be tolerated either way, but our justice system places too much stock in individual agents making choices rather than critiquing structures.

Either we pretend Brown was assaulted by the store clerk like that silly article (and CNN) suggests and completely ignore the fact that he was upset and angry as evident through assaulting the store clerk, or we assume he was upset and angry of either his own choosing or inherent "thug" like qualities. These falsely dichotomous narratives ignore the environmental causes of his anger, especially if he was being wrongly accused of theft by the clerk, thus assaulting him. This story doesn't begin in the store, it began with every negative interaction Brown had with white hegemonic institutions both formal (education, legal) and informal (social interactions). The preoccupation over individuals and legal cases thus ought NOT be the place where racial discussion take place since it encourages false dichotomies, particular circumstances, emotional appeal on both sides, and assumption that individuals have complete choice over their behavior and that environment doesn't cause racial hostility.

That is, we end up discussing the individual officers and victims as agents as a proxy to discussing why racism exists. Racial hostility isn't a choice, it's a product of structures, namely the political and education systems (and ultimately stemming from slavery). Most forms of racial hostility are implicit and reciprocated leading to perpetual mistrust and fear. For this reason, I wonder how this newest Carolina case will further negate the discussion of structures which cause reciprocal mistrust, fear, and otherness among the socially distanced racial groups.
 

BriCKson

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In my opinion the officer is clearly guilty of murder. It is easy to view the action and condemn it by saying police are out of control or police are racist, however I do not feel that this is the correct way to go about it. Police departments are just like any career, there are going to be good employees and bad employees. Regardless of how much training or tests, bad people are going to get into certain career positions... such as police officer. Some positions these people are harmless.... others... they get the right to carry a gun and shoot it if they deem necessary. So whats the point of running around spouting off that police are racist and murder blacks? The actions of a few do not speak for the many. The police departments grow as the population grows, which in turn increases the likeliness of bad cops. I see and hear so often where people want to send a message of police racially targeting blacks. Spread a message of mistrust and fear, but offer no insight or fix. Cops are targeting blacks! It needs to be fixed. Okay well, what issues need to be addressed?

Poverty- In places of poverty crime is more prevalent... or easier to catch. Whites and Blacks commit crimes at similar rates in places of poverty. The problem is, there are more places of black poverty. Naturally where crime occurs more often officers are going to gravitate towards. So if poverty=more crime/easier crime=black neighborhoods=police=police having more interactions with blacks. Is that racist? I don't know. How do we give people in poor communities more chances to escape poverty?

Education- Education obviously needs to be reformed. Our education standards should be upsetting to everyone. This needs to be a massive push. We need better teachers, more teachers and higher paid teachers. Education is no longer important in America and it show's in so many aspects of our lives. I am not talking about free community college either. This does not address the problem and does nothing to help anyone in poor communities. If individuals are never able to learn effectively and get through high school, they will never have a chance to get free community college. Its a joke.

Police department reprimands- Officers often give indicators that they are at risk, some don't. Police department reprimands need to be strict, swift and strong. The more chances you give, the more the individual is going to believe that they can get off the hook. Everyone knows the late person at work. They show up late all the time and are constantly spoken to about it, but nothing happens, so they keep doing it. Well police officers should not be given these chances. If there is any indicator of racial issues the officer should immediately be terminated. If the officer does something questionable in the field they should be given a reprimand and advised that if it occurs again they will be terminated. If they are given a reprimand they should be removed from the field for a specific amount of time without pay. There will always be officers who slip through the cracks and will not be caught until someone is dead, but this may help.

Who should we be mad at? Police officers or our government who is in control of all of the above. Current government aid programs do nothing for the self betterment of the individual. Government aid is just a clever way to keep people of poverty in poverty and keep individuals in control. The government pushes officers to be their revenue gathering errand boys. Pressure to write tickets=officers screwing people over for petty offenses=officers searching out places where crime occurs/easier to catch=officers in places of poverty=officers in black neighborhoods. If we want to scream about racism... the first place we should point our finger is at our government, not our police officers. Since Mike Brown or other cases, has our government done anything to try to fix the issues? The federal government could require officers to wear body camera, but haven't. Do they really care? Police officers are just a distraction from the bigger picture.

just my 2 cents.
 
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Alexander Nicholi

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This is the boils that come from our toxic American culture. Tragedies like this are natural when you have an ignorant, entitled, undereducated populace only concerned with themselves and whatever current moment they're in. And if more killers go free it's just proof that people are too passive for their own good - they don't care enough to stand up and question for what they think is right. They're too used to getting felt over by their corporate masters to think for themselves. Ain't that America.
 
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