Mistrial Verdict in Walter Scott Killing by Police Sparks Anger, Outrage

‘A Legal Lynching’

Black Community and Supporters of Justice Outraged After Former Police Officer Who Shot and Killed Walter Scott Handed Mistrial Verdict by South Carolina Jury – Despite Video Evidence

After hours of deliberation, shocking video of the incident recorded by a bystander, and testimony that at times was contradictory from the former police officer’s charged with the murder who fired the fatal shots, a South Carolina jury deadlocked. Eleven were ready to convict, but one juror, identified only as a 50 year-old male, who has been quoted as saying he “cannot in good conscience consider a guilty verdict.” 

For Black Americans the declared mistrial is yet in another of a long line of missteps by the American justice system which disenfranchises them. It reinforces the principle that Black people’s daily encounters with police more often than not end in harassment, violence or death: Their lives don’t seem to matter, even when they’re being taken in front of millions of viewers.

It was a routine traffic stop in April of 2015 which quickly spiraled out of control. The white, North Charleston, SC police officer, 33-year old Michael Slager, had pulled 50-year old Walter Scott, a Black father of four, over for a broken ‘third brake light’ on the Mercedes Benz he was driving. The interaction between the two men escalated after Scott got out of his car and fled. Then in the version initially supplied to the public and media by North Charleston authorities, it was stated that Slager gave chase on foot, a physical altercation broke out, and Slager used lethal force to defend himself.

However, within three days an eyewitness came forward. A piece published by The Post & Courier newspaper on April 12, 2015, described what happened next: 

“On foot, Slager followed Scott down Craig Road, past a window-tinting shop and a lot behind a pawnshop. To their right was a chain-link fence with barbed wire. At an opening in the fence, Scott turned right, and so did Slager. At least one witness saw the pursuit.

Feidin Santana was on the alley-like road that paralleled the vacant lot. He took that route every day he went to work at a nearby barbershop. When he saw the pursuit, he decided to follow them. He heard the zapping sound of the Taser. He would later tell reporters that Scott seemed to be trying to get away from the Taser.

He pressed record on his cellphone. He twisted it sideways, and then steadied it as Michael Slager, a few yards away, pulled his Glock 21 from his holster.”

Santana, who initially was too frightened to release the video eventually went to a local media outlet which then broadcast it, and posted it online causing it to go viral.

The evidence revealed on Santana’s cellphone video was crystal clear: It graphically showed that Slager opened fire on Scott at a distance, striking him repeatedly in the back. Scott was unarmed and contrary to Slager’s statements given to investigators afterwards, Scott did not have possession of the officer’s Taser. In fact, Slager appeared to toss the device on the ground next to Scott moments after shooting him.

Within hours of the video’s release, Slager was fired, arrested and charged with murder.

One prominent member of the Black North Charleston, South Carolina community where the Scott killing took place, speaking confidentially to NCRM, referred to the mistrial as yet another miscarriage of justice, “a legal lynching.” 

He pointed out the December 3, Editorial Board of The New York Times editorial in the paper’s Sunday Review section to further illustrate his point.

The Times‘ board, writing about a supplement to the study, “Lynching in America,” released by the Equal Justice Initiative, had stated:

“The time when African-Americans were publicly hanged, burned and dismembered for insisting on their rights or for merely talking back to whites is nearer in history than many Americans understand. The horror of these crimes still weighs heavily on black communities in the South, where lynching memories are often vivid. The anguish is made worse by the realization that some of the killers are still alive and may never be prosecuted.”  

“This is no different.” he told NCRM. “The mentality that fostered the environment in American society which allowed for the Black community to be terrorized by lynching back then continues today by allowing for the police to be able to shoot black men with impunity.” 

While he acknowledged that although the jurors, eleven white and one Black, were considering both murder and manslaughter charges against Slager, the problem was that one juror. Even though his eleven other peers decided that the actions were unlawful, the holdout obviously didn’t view Slager’s actions as criminal.

“That is the attitude – right there, it’s in front of him and he still does not see the crime – it’s because it’s just another Black criminal and a cop trying to do his job. There’s no real change. This is the same mindset that there’s always been. What about next time? Maybe it will be two or three jurors.”

Prosecutors have stated that they will retry the case, an announcement that has been met with skepticism in the Black community in North Charleston and elsewhere.

Lecia Brooks, director of outreach for the Southern Poverty Law Center responded, telling NCRM:

“This is a case where an unarmed black man pulled over for a faulty brake light was fatally shot while running away. It is obvious to anyone who sees the video that Walter Scott posed no threat to the officer involved. We don’t believe that justice has yet been done and we are glad that the state of South Carolina isn’t giving up.”

In statement released Monday, South Carolina’s Republican Governor Nikki Haley expressed her faith in the system and applauded the prosecutor’s decision. 

“It is my understanding that there will be, as quickly as possible, a new trial where the Scott family and all of South Carolina will hopefully receive the closure that a verdict brings,” Haley wrote. “Justice is not always immediate, but we must all have faith that it will be served – I certainly do. I urge South Carolinians – in Charleston and across our state – to continue along the path we have walked these last two years: a path of grace, faith, love and understanding. That is who we are, and who I know we will continue to be.”

 

Brody Levesque is the Chief Political Correspondent for The New Civil Rights Movement.
You may contact Brody at Brody.Levesque@thenewcivilrightsmovement.com 

Image: Screenshot via ABC News/Twitter