Again, US police officer shoots black man dead

BY DAMILOLA ODUNLAMI

Michael Slager, South Carolina police officer, has been charged with murder of Walter Scott, following the release of a video which caught him shooting Scott at the back as he ran.

Slager, who initially did not admit he murdered Scott, was arrested by the state investigator after an amateur video of the incident leading to Scott’s death had been evaluated.

The 33-year-old officer claimed that Scott tried to grab his stun-gun, and he had shot in self defence, but the video tells a different story.

Fifty-year-old Scott was pulled over for a traffic violation, before the situation degenerated to the firing of eight shots by the police officer.

The United States justice department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said Slager had been arrested with separate investigation ongoing.

Keith Summey, the Mayor of North Charleston has condemned the act, saying the officer has to live with his decision.

“When you are wrong, you are wrong. When you make a bad decision, I don’t care if you’re behind the shield or a citizen on the street, you have to live with that decision,” Summey said.

In a bid to create a scene for self defence, Slager, after killing Scott, approached the corpse and said: “Put your hands behind your back” while cuffing the dead.

In December 2014, Antonio Martin, an 18-year-old black American, was shot by a US police officer at a gas station in a suburb of St. Louis, Missouri, in New York.

Antonio’s death came a few weeks after Michael Brown, another black American teenager, was killed by a US police officer in what led to nationwide protests by Americans of all races.

The mayor has confirmed that Slager has been fired from the service of North Charleston police department, adding that the department would however cover his insurance till his pregnant wife is delivered of her baby.