South Carolina Office Charged With Murder of Unarmed Man - Polidicks

[url]http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/08/us/south-carolina-officer-is-charged-with-murder-in-black-mans-death.html[/url] [Quote]The officer, Michael T. Slager, 33, had said he feared for his life because the man took his stun gun in a scuffle after a traffic stop on Saturday. A video, however, shows the officer firing eight times as the man fled. The North Charleston mayor announced the state charges at a news conference Tuesday evening.[/quote]

Saw this just now, I don't normally jump to conclusions but this video made me jump to some conclusions

Depending on what kind of stun gun it was and whether it was actually taken or dropped is an important factor, but in any case this is a clear case of poor discipline on the officers part. An unarmed runaway suspect is not a threat and lethal force should not be used, especially considering it begun as a traffic stop. If the suspect had actually seized the stungun this could've been justified but the video shows that is clearly not the case.

good.

He shot him 8 times? That's not even remotely acceptable. 1 shot maybe to stop him, but 8? Just let the guy get away, don't murder him. [editline]7th April 2015[/editline] I also love how the NYTimes called it "South Carolina Officer Is Charged With Murder in Black Man’s Death", not just "Unarmed Man's Death". Because him being black is the most important part of the story, seeing as it's 2015

[QUOTE=.Venom;47477998]He shot him 8 times? That's not even remotely acceptable. 1 shot maybe to stop him, but 8? Just let the guy get away, don't murder him. [editline]7th April 2015[/editline] I also love how the NYTimes called it "South Carolina Officer Is Charged With Murder in Black Man’s Death", not just "Unarmed Man's Death". Because him being black is the most important part of the story, seeing as it's 2015[/QUOTE] You don't shoot to wound. That said, the killing seems unjustifiable. The cop should've given chase, not opened fire.

[QUOTE=.Venom;47477998]He shot him 8 times? That's not even remotely acceptable. 1 shot maybe to stop him, but 8? Just let the guy get away, don't murder him. [editline]7th April 2015[/editline] I also love how the NYTimes called it "South Carolina Officer Is Charged With Murder in Black Man’s Death", not just "Unarmed Man's Death". Because him being black is the most important part of the story, seeing as it's 2015[/QUOTE] As an officer, when you fire your weapon you're trying to kill the person you're shooting at. Its a black and white scenario, you either hold your fire or you kill the target. That being said, it seems as though he shouldn't have shot at all.

That is some insanely damning evidence in that video, I'm amazed the cops didn't try and take it. I mean showing the guy clearly fleeing, being shot to death, then the video shows the cop very clearly walking over and planting something next to him? Glad he was actually charged for this, it's unacceptable

Planting something? I don't see it.

[QUOTE=Chernobyl426;47478076]Planting something? I don't see it.[/QUOTE] The stun gun he dropped by the guy

[QUOTE=hrak;47478109]The stun gun he dropped by the guy[/QUOTE] Assumed that. I don't see him drop anything. Camera looks way too shaky to tell IMO

[QUOTE=.Venom;47477998]He shot him 8 times? That's not even remotely acceptable. 1 shot maybe to stop him, but 8? Just let the guy get away, don't murder him. [editline]7th April 2015[/editline] I also love how the NYTimes called it "South Carolina Officer Is Charged With Murder in Black Man’s Death", not just "Unarmed Man's Death". Because him being black is the most important part of the story, seeing as it's 2015[/QUOTE] "1 shot maybe to stop him" and the bullet hits a major artery, killing him. Why do the number of shot even matter as a measure of brutality or whatever?

[QUOTE=Explosions;47478160]"1 shot maybe to stop him" and the bullet hits a major artery, killing him. Why do the number of shot even matter as a measure of brutality or whatever?[/QUOTE] Because people see "Police shoot man 12 times" and think "Wow, they were really trying to kill him, it must be police brutality".

[QUOTE=Chernobyl426;47478125]Assumed that. I don't see him drop anything. Camera looks way too shaky to tell IMO[/QUOTE] Uhh it's played in slow motion and there is even a damn caption. Dunno how you can miss it as he clearly drops something next to the guy. It's at the 1:35 mark. An object is clearly dropped.

isn't shooting fleeing suspects illegal in the US, anyway? this is fucked up

[QUOTE=Dr. Gestapo;47478331]isn't shooting fleeing suspects illegal in the US, anyway? this is fucked up[/QUOTE] It depends on whether or not the suspects are considered dangerous to the public, and the context of the situation. I imagine the legality of it also differs between states, as police are employed by state and local governments.

Thank god that dude was willing to risk his ass filming the shooting. That was cold-blooded execution and staging the crime scene to make it look justifiable. Without the video, that officer would have walked away. Well, he still might. The optimistic side of me says there is no possible way a jury composed of human beings could watch that video and decide to acquit. The pessimistic side says the prosecutor will do everything his his power to secure an acquittal. Whatever ends up happening...man, that was horrible to watch.

[QUOTE=chunkymonkey;47478283]Uhh it's played in slow motion and there is even a damn caption. Dunno how you can miss it as he clearly drops something next to the guy. It's at the 1:35 mark. An object is clearly dropped.[/QUOTE] I see. Was looking so hard earlier on I didn't just play it through. My bad.

Oh my fucking god, it's like he knows the whole planting evidence routine. It was so casually done. This ruined my night along some other things. That cop has to go to jail for 1st degree murder. Terrible fun fact: Slager means butcher in Dutch.

The other officer is right beside him and doesn't arrest the murderer when he plants the evidence. Accomplices should be charged too, just saying.

I hope he's put away in prison and never allowed near a gun ever again.

[QUOTE=Zero Ziat;47478649]The other officer is right beside him and doesn't arrest the murderer when he plants the evidence. Accomplices should be charged too, just saying.[/QUOTE] I don't think that is the correct way to go about it. It could lead to a lot of problems

[QUOTE=Zero Ziat;47478649]The other officer is right beside him and doesn't arrest the murderer when he plants the evidence. Accomplices should be charged too, just saying.[/QUOTE] Don't think I'd be willing to attempt to arrest a fellow armed officer seconds after he kills a man in cold blood.

On one had, it sucked the man dies, and even moreso for the Officer to choose to fire his gun on him. On the other hand taking away a stun gun from an Officer is a big no no to do, so kinda dumb on the victim's part.

[QUOTE=Pvt. Martin;47479055] On the other hand taking away a stun gun from an Officer is a big no no to do, so kinda dumb on the victim's part.[/QUOTE] lol victim blaming [editline]7th April 2015[/editline] [QUOTE=axelord157;47478501]Oh my fucking god, it's like he knows the whole planting evidence routine. It was so casually done. This ruined my night along some other things. That cop has to go to jail for 1st degree murder. [/QUOTE] It was literally the first thing he did: Stage the scene to look more justified. It was so reflexive you could almost think he was trained to do it. And, of course, not even the slightest pretense of first aid. Just cuff 'em and watch 'em bleed. Fucking sociopath.

[QUOTE=Used Car Salesman;47479069]lol victim blaming [/QUOTE] "victim blaming" come on now. The guy did something very stupid, I don't care if you think the shooting was justifiable or not, it was fucking stupid.

[QUOTE=Fort83;47479105]Except it's not. If you honestly think trying to take an officer's stun gun is a good idea, then you're an idiot. It's not justified for the officer to shoot the guy since he didn't get the stun gun, but the dude made a poor decision to try and go for it in the first place.[/QUOTE] If it doesn't make it justifiable, why are you fixating on it? That's victim blaming. You're fixating on what [I]he[/I] did to contribute to his own death and ignoring the gun-wielding psycho that [I]murdered him.[/I]

[QUOTE=Used Car Salesman;47479253]If it doesn't make it justifiable, why are you fixating on it? That's victim blaming. You're fixating on what [I]he[/I] did to contribute to his own death and ignoring the gun-wielding psycho that [I]murdered him.[/I][/QUOTE] He's making a separate comment on a dumb thing the victim did. The victim might have had a 1.0 GPA. Pointing that out isn't victim blaming either.

[QUOTE=Explosions;47479332]The victim might have had a 1.0 GPA. Pointing that out isn't victim blaming either.[/QUOTE] It is, however, completely and entirely irrelevant to the situation.

[QUOTE=Used Car Salesman;47479253]If it doesn't make it justifiable, why are you fixating on it? That's victim blaming. You're fixating on what [I]he[/I] did to contribute to his own death and ignoring the gun-wielding psycho that [I]murdered him.[/I][/QUOTE] victim blaming is "he deserved it", not saying "it isn't smart to try taking an officer's weapon" [editline]7th April 2015[/editline] hell, even ascribing some amount of fault isn't victim blaming as long as it is legitimate fault, that doesn't mean you're justifying the murder, only giving explanation to how it got to murder