"The horrific video that came to light yesterday is deeply troubling."
Sen. Tim Scott
The video of white North Charleston, South Carolina police officer Michael Slager shooting black, unarmed Walter Scott in an open field has ripped open the national wound over race relations and law enforcement abuse. Slager now faces a murder charge after he shot Scott eight times in the back while the 50-year-old father ran away following a traffic stop.
In announcing the charge, North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey said, "When you're wrong, you're wrong. When you make a bad decision -- don't care if you're behind the shield or a citizen on the street -- you have to live with that decision."
South Carolina Senator Tim Scott said, "The horrific video that came to light yesterday is deeply troubling. It is clear the killing of Walter Scott was unnecessary and avoidable, and my prayers are with the Scott family as they go through this ordeal."
The video evidence, posted here by the Post and Courier newspaper -- and captured by a bystander -- shows the shooting and the aftermath. A warning that the content is quite disturbing:
Reaction to the video has been coming in from around the world, and has resonated here in Connecticut, only one day after a presentation in Hartford about the prevalence of racial profiling in police stops.
That study, by Central Connecticut State University, showed that African American and Hispanic drivers in the state were more likely to be pulled over by police, and that the disparity is even greater during the daytime, when the race or ethnicity of the driver is more easily determined.
"Police see a traffic stop as a chance to find something out," said WNPR's Colin McEnroe on Where We Live. "Citizens of color see a traffic stop as the beginning of a chain of events in which any number of things can go wrong. And, obviously, the most catastrophic version of that is Charleston."
Listen below to McEnroe talking about this case on The Wheelhouse, Where We Live's weekly roundtable. Pictured is Walter Scott, during his service in the Coast Guard:
Racial profiling and transparency of police reports are the topics on Thursday on Where We Live, as we talk about the CCSU report and listen back to a panel discussion taped last Wednesday about a bill that would open up arrest records to public view.
All of these subjects came together in another discussion at the Legislative Office Building last week, as minority lawmakers described a "distrust" their communities have with local law enforcement.
Gary Winfield, a state senator from New Haven, addressed the police and community relations forum. "The reality for white people is not the reality for people of color in this country," he said. "The minute I’m born, I’m born into this brown skin, and it has real meaning in this country."
WNPR host Faith Middleton contributed this essay:
It is a staggering sight, watching a 50-year-old African American South Carolina man shot in the back by a white police officer. As staggering as it is, I have watched the video several times. I have also watched Scott's mother say on television that the police officer did not shoot "an animal, he shot my son."
Mr. Scott had four children. It was after the third viewing of the shooting, captured on a cell phone, that I picked up my mug of tea and had to put it down. My hand shook so badly I couldn't hold on. I broke down. I knew then to what extent these images affected me, how the video pierced through any defense of heartbreak I had unconsciously erected to protect myself from this horrific episode.
A human being, a father, a citizen of the United States, was shot in the back by a South Carolina police officer. He was not an animal; he was an imperfect man. He was Mrs. Scott's son.
