# Controversial encounters between law-enforcement and civilians - the omnibus thread **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 10, 2014, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942 "2014-10-10T07:35:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 75
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2015, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/1481 "2015-04-08T01:39:58Z")
Five CynicBucks say the guy had a warrant out and/or had some drugs or alcohol in him. This will be used to justify the shooting. “He wouldn’t be dead if he had just _obeyed the law!_ Let us condone Ty Kendricks if we cannot decorate.” ( [http://www.usprisonculture.com/blog/2013/08/21/poem-of-the-day-southern-cop-by-sterling-brown/](http://www.usprisonculture.com/blog/2013/08/21/poem-of-the-day-southern-cop-by-sterling-brown/)) ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2015, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/1482 "2015-04-08T02:03:24Z")
Also, tomorrow, some prominent commentator or news outlet will refer to the deceased or a member of his immediate family as a “thug.” My money is on Rush Limbaugh being the first. I would go with Ted Nugent, but he’ll probably use his old standby, “subhuman mongrel.” ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2015, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/1483 "2015-04-08T02:03:52Z")
Obviously the guy’s corpse was even dangerous, the cop had to put cuffs on it. ---
**Author:** ![BigAppleBucky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigapplebucky/32/178_2.png) [@BigAppleBucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigAppleBucky)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2015, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/1484 "2015-04-08T02:29:31Z")
> [@RandMcnally](#): > > I am stating it right here: either he’ll walk or he’ll have a minimum sentence. Sad that we’ve become so cynical. Can’t say a walk is not a possibility. But I would predict the guy will be prosecuted for some less than the top murder charge. Manslaughter? He’s made other cops less likely to be believed in this type of situation and will be made an example of. Ten year sentence? The female family member calling out in gratitude to God when the person who took the video was mentioned at the family news conference was heartbreaking. Cops really, really need to dial back the use of deadly force. ---
**Author:** ![get\_lives](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@get\_lives](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/get_lives)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2015, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/1485 "2015-04-08T02:48:48Z")
When you get the cum wiped off your chin, **Smapti** , I’d like to get your “thoughts”. No, never mind. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2015, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/1486 "2015-04-08T03:36:51Z")
Maybe \*\*smapti \*\*is Officer Slager. It could be a while before we get the latest “here’s why this cop was good and/or the dead person is bad” defense in that case. ---
**Author:** ![get\_lives](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@get\_lives](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/get_lives)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2015, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/1487 "2015-04-08T03:39:17Z")
> [@bup](#): > > Maybe \*\*smapti \*\*is Officer Slager. It could be a while before we get the latest “here’s why this cop was good and/or the dead person is bad” defense in that case. I hope he is some kind of cop of some type. I actually imagine him as being homeless or living in a group home or some such, though. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2015, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/1488 "2015-04-08T06:14:04Z")
Here’s an article from [April 5th and 6th](http://www.abcnews4.com/story/28725562/coroner-identifies-man-shot-killed-by-north-charleston-police-officer). It’s an interesting presentation of falsehood. It starts with a statement by the cop’s attorney. It reports the charges (broken tail light). Then the big deception: Police and witnesses say Scott tried to run from Slager before turning to fight for the officer’s Taser. It was during that scuffle that the officer fired his service weapon, fatally wounding Scott. According to an incident report, officers heard Slager say over the radio that he had deployed his Taser and “seconds later” he said “Shots fired and the subject is down. He took my Taser.” The police department regrets the tragedy. The family of the victim says what a sweet guy he is. I used to roll my eyes at such statements by relatives of the arestees. I used to give cops caught up in such types of suspicious circumstances the benefit of the doubt before the advent of cell phone video. I regret that. The video doesn’t show a scuffle. It shows a guy being shot multiple times at a distance of maybe 15 feet as he’s trying to run away. It looks like it shows a taser being moved by the cop so that it’s close to the body of the deceased. At google news, I see that the story is getting international attention - multiple languages. An annotated video is posted at the New York Times website: [South Carolina Officer Is Charged With Murder of Walter Scott - The New York Times](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/08/us/south-carolina-officer-is-charged-with-murder-in-black-mans-death.html?_r=1) [Think Progress](http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2015/04/07/3644189/everything-police-said-walter-scotts-death-video-showed-really-happened/) on the official story before the video surfaced. [Raw video](http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2015/04/07/3644139/sc-cop-charged-with-murder/). States need to appoint special prosecutors for this sort of incident. Also more cams. Also a bottom to top and top to bottom review of police training. Including first aid. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2015, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/1489 "2015-04-08T08:22:16Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > States need to appoint special prosecutors for this sort of incident. I’d say skip the states - every lethal shooting by a cop should trigger an automatic Federal investigation, and Federal prosecution if the investigation deems it warranted. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2015, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/1490 "2015-04-08T09:29:24Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > The video doesn’t show a scuffle. It shows a guy being shot multiple times at a distance of maybe 15 feet as he’s trying to run away. It looks like it shows a taser being moved by the cop so that it’s close to the body of the deceased. Looks more like 15 yards to me. I wonder what would have happened without the video. Surely any competent autopsy would show the victim was shot in the back from more than ten feet away. Would that have been enough to charge the shooter? ETA: Now that I think of it, probably not. I remember that case in Texas, where somebody called 911 to report a neighbor’s house being burglarized, and then said that he was going to go out and shoot them. The 911 operator forcefully and repeatedly told him to not to, but he did it anyway – shot them in the back as they were fleeing. The shooter immediately claimed that he had been in fear of his life, and not only wasn’t indicted, but became a hero among the right-wingnuts. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2015, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/1491 "2015-04-08T09:54:17Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > I’d say skip the states - every lethal shooting by a cop should trigger an automatic Federal investigation, and Federal prosecution if the investigation deems it warranted. I agree. The trouble is local prosecutors are way to cozy with police and are loathe to press charges, often punting the matter to a grand jury an then doing a half-assed job of presenting the case, even presenting the other side! ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Kumquat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gary\_Kumquat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Kumquat)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2015, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/1492 "2015-04-08T09:55:26Z")
Apologies if this has already been mentioned, but I did a search for the victim’s name and it didn’t come up. US police office shoots a fleeing man in the back, then plants his tazer by the body so he can claim there had been a scuffle. Fortunately someone filmed the execution, making it clear this was untrue. > **[Officer shot Walter Scott 'like a deer running through the woods'](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/charleston-shooting-white-police-officer-charged-with-murder-after-video-emerges-of-him-killing-unarmed-black-man-as-he-ran-away-10161142.html)** > > Officer Michael Slager said he feared for his life after his stun gun was taken by 50-year-old Walter Scott during a 'scuffle' ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Kumquat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gary\_Kumquat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Kumquat)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2015, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/1493 "2015-04-08T10:02:14Z")
Better video here: > **[South Carolina Officer Is Charged With Murder of Walter Scott (Published 2015)](https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/08/us/south-carolina-officer-is-charged-with-murder-in-black-mans-death.html?_r=1&hc_location=ufi)** > > The North Charleston officer, who is white, had said Mr. Scott, an apparently unarmed black man, took his stun gun. But a video shows the officer firing at him eight times. They highlight the point where the office drops his tazer next to the body, so he can claim the deceased had taken it off him and he was defending himself. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2015, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/1494 "2015-04-08T10:14:09Z")
Practically this entire page of posts is about this story. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Kumquat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gary\_Kumquat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Kumquat)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2015, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/1495 "2015-04-08T10:46:59Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > Practically this entire page of posts is about this story. 🙂 Apologies, not sure how I fucked up the search that badly. Didn’t show anything for Walter Scott. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2015, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/1496 "2015-04-08T11:52:50Z")
> [@get\_lives](#): > > **Smapti** , I’d like to get your “thoughts”. Looks pretty cut and dry to me that there was no reason for the officer to shoot. Sorry to disappoint you. Shall I go “get help” now? ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2015, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/1497 "2015-04-08T12:08:59Z")
> [@RandMcnally](#): > > I am stating it right here: either he’ll walk or he’ll have a minimum sentence. Good heavens. I came to this thread wondering how quickly they’d impose the death penalty if he were found guilty. ---
**Author:** ![get\_lives](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@get\_lives](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/get_lives)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2015, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/1498 "2015-04-08T12:56:08Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Looks pretty cut and dry to me that there was no reason for the officer to shoot. > > Sorry to disappoint you. Shall I go “get help” now? Does this count as cold-blooded murder? I can offer other cases if this won’t. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2015, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/1499 "2015-04-08T12:57:20Z")
> [@get\_lives](#): > > Does this count as cold-blooded murder? That’s for the courts to decide. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2015, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/1500 "2015-04-08T14:32:38Z")
> [@get\_lives](#): > > Does this count as cold-blooded murder? I can offer other cases if this won’t. Didn’t look cold blooded, looked heat of the moment. Still looks like murder, but looking like isn’t enough to say for certain. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942.md?page=74) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942.md?page=76)