WASHINGTON — 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.
South Carolina Officer Is Charged With Murder in Black Man's Death
These things aren't new, but perhaps being made top news with the fall out in Ferguson. In my opinion it's really sad that after all these years that these things are still happening to our people. I have a little boy that I pray for that he lives a long healthy, happy life where he'll see his kids and grand kids. No parent should have to worry about stuff like police brutality and violence against us or whether their child will come home safely. It breaks my heart...
My thoughts and prayers are with the family of the slain. May the sweet Lord give them peace in spite of the evil that exists and attempts to smoother and suffocate our hope. Amen.