Less than 24 hours after a shocking video showing Officer Michael Thomas Slager firing eight shots into the back of an unarmed man went viral, his firing from the police force has been confirmed. Slager claimed that he feared for his life after stopping unarmed Walter Lamar Scott, 50, for driving with a busted tail light last weekend. A bystander saw the altercation between both men and captured video of Scott running away from Slager as he slowly followed him repeatedly firing his weapon. A murder charge was quickly filed against the officer, and protests are planned for later today, April 8, in North Charleston.
Law enforcement in this South Carolina city of just under 100,000 people is already taking steps to at least attempt to handle things differently than the now-infamous case in Ferguson was last year. Police Chief Eddie Driggers held a press conference today at City Hall and admitted his horror after viewing the video.
He also dealt with about 75 protesters who were in attendance quite fairly. He treated them with understanding and respect while explaining how this case was turned over to an impartial, outside agency to investigate immediately. While he could not offer many details, he did say that Slager has been fired but will continue to pay for medical coverage for his pregnant wife.
During the press conference, race was obviously a major topic. Slager is a white officer who stopped Scott, a black man, for a minor traffic offense, the kind that are often not worth doing the paper work on. It was also pointed out that the North Charleston police force has tried to go outside the community to try and recruit some officers who are minorities in order to balance things out better. When reporters suggested that with such a large African-American community in the city more minority officers would probably be a good idea, Driggers readily agreed.
While it seems that this police force is doing everything within their means to separate themselves from Slager and his horrific actions, do you think the community will allow it to happen? Will their taking steps to handle things differently than they were in Ferguson, Missouri, lead to at least more peaceful protesting? Tell us your thoughts in the comments section below.
