# South Carolina police officer charged with murder. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 8, 2015, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/south-carolina-police-officer-charged-with-murder/717087 "2015-04-08T01:36:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2015, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/south-carolina-police-officer-charged-with-murder/717087/121 "2015-04-08T22:22:56Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Body cameras will restore trust. Make a national web site and post them after any alleged police misconduct. People can decide for themselves if it was justified or not. Except then we’d have people arguing that well, with what that guy said, of course he was dangerous. And defending racial slurs by saying that if the cop didn’t lynch anyone, it couldn’t really have been racist, etc. Trust will come back when people are treated equally and fairly by the cops and no sooner. ---
**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, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/south-carolina-police-officer-charged-with-murder/717087/122 "2015-04-08T22:23:52Z")
I say we MRI scan all cops and recruits, and fire those with sociopathic tendencies, impulse control problems, unusual racism, or anger issues. That would only leave good cops, and it would be cheaper than the body cam solution. And better, because people would have good reason to trust every cop automstically. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2015, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/south-carolina-police-officer-charged-with-murder/717087/123 "2015-04-08T22:29:01Z")
> [@get\_lives](#): > > I say we MRI scan all cops and recruits, and fire those with sociopathic tendencies, impulse control problems, unusual racism, or anger issues. That would only leave good cops, and it would be cheaper than the body cam solution. And better, because people would have good reason to trust every cop automstically. An [MRI](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_resonance_imaging) will not disclose any of those issues. ---
**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, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/south-carolina-police-officer-charged-with-murder/717087/124 "2015-04-08T22:36:23Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > An [MRI](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_resonance_imaging) will not disclose any of those issues. Of course it will. You show images to people and see what happens to their brains. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2015, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/south-carolina-police-officer-charged-with-murder/717087/125 "2015-04-08T22:41:27Z")
> [@get\_lives](#): > > Of course it will. You show images to people and see what happens to their brains. maybe I’m being whooshed A fMRI sort of does what you’re saying, but it won’t actually tell us who is racist and unstable. ---
**Author:** ![rsa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@rsa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsa)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2015, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/south-carolina-police-officer-charged-with-murder/717087/126 "2015-04-08T22:49:45Z")
> [@get\_lives](#): > > Of course it will. You show images to people and see what happens to their brains. What you are thinking of is [fMRI](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Functional_magnetic_resonance_imaging) (Functional MRI). ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2015, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/south-carolina-police-officer-charged-with-murder/717087/127 "2015-04-08T22:51:16Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Every police shooting case that I’ve read about has involved some degree of resistance by the suspect. Fighting or struggling with the officer, refusing to show their hands, aggressive movements or trying to run. > [@aceplace57](#): > > I haven’t seen a video this incriminating before. Does seeing this video and comparing it to the officer’s account make you doubt the veracity of all those cases you read about in the past? ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2015, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/south-carolina-police-officer-charged-with-murder/717087/128 "2015-04-08T22:59:22Z")
Another scary thing is the number of shots fired. It appears he only hit Walker with the last 2 or 3. What kind of a moron would turn 5 rounds loose on a city street endangering all the citizens in town? ---
**Author:** ![Habeed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a587f6/32.png) [@Habeed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Habeed)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2015, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/south-carolina-police-officer-charged-with-murder/717087/129 "2015-04-08T23:15:38Z")
> [@get\_lives](#): > > How would this ever go to Federal court? You’d have to prove a civil rights violation, which is a high bar. And they can’t force the local DA to “try extra hard”. All he has to do is the absolute bare minimum to avoid being prosecuted himself…and since he’s a lawyer, he knows exACTly what would be that bare minimum. I’m not even sure there is such a bare minimum. Can’t the DA just decide not to even bother to press charges if he wants? Or kinda half ass it in court, totally? Or let the cop plead out to probation? I mean, there’s basically no punishment if the DA knowingly gets an innocent man convicted and sent to prison, so why would there be punishment if he does his job really badly but still technically turns over all exculpatory evidence, etc? Of course, what makes this murder? Can you say that the officer was premeditating the killing in the few seconds during which he draws his gun and opens fire? Unless he made a blog entry saying something like “I’m gonna cap me a black person today”, you can’t say he planned out the murder any further than during the traffic stop itself. ---
**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, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/south-carolina-police-officer-charged-with-murder/717087/130 "2015-04-08T23:16:05Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > maybe I’m being whooshed > > A fMRI sort of does what you’re saying, but it won’t actually tell us who is racist and unstable. Of course it will. What are you talking about? ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2015, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/south-carolina-police-officer-charged-with-murder/717087/131 "2015-04-08T23:29:54Z")
> [@iamthewalrus\_3](#): > > Does seeing this video and comparing it to the officer’s account make you doubt the veracity of all those cases you read about in the past? Yes it does. We have to get a more reliable way to hold police accountable. Exonerate the good cops and prosecute the bad ones. This goes beyond police shootings. Any complaint of misconduct needs investigation. I see the [President was requesting funds in matching funding for body cams](http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/first-read/obama-requests-263-million-police-body-cameras-training-n259161) a few months ago. Thats a very good idea. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/south-carolina-police-officer-charged-with-murder/717087/132 "2015-04-09T00:49:51Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I’ve had 3 tickets in my life. One time they let me mail in my fine. The other two were in small towns and I was required to go to court and pay immediately. A PITA that cost me nearly two hours in lost travel time. Running away never even crossed my mine.\*\* I’m not that stupid\*\*. Dubious. > [@get\_lives](#): > > Didn’t you just get embarrassed by me in a GQ thread? I’m just going to leave you alone so you can lick your wounds. Brilliant response. > [@aceplace57](#): > > This thread is interesting to say the least. You don’t run from cops. You just don’t. When you do you are signalling that you’re potentially dangerous. If you’re lucky the cop will taser you and arrest. The gun is option 2. > > There’s consequences for people’s poor choices and actions. Drive 90 mph down a city street. You will probably wreck and die. Running from a cop runs the same risks. > > I agree in this situation the cop over reacted. He has been charged with murder and now the facts can be brought before a jury. It does appear in the video that he manipulated the crime scene. That makes him a bad cop. He’ll probably end up in prison. > > This wouldn’t have happened if the guy had stayed put. Offered no resistance. Bail bondsman are on call 24/7. He would have been home in time for supper. How about “this wouldn’t have happened” if this fucker hadn’t been allowed to be a police officer? It’s always said, “oh, there are bad apples in every profession”, which is true. However, with a job such as police officer, I think a lot more attention needs to be paid as to just who is allowed to wear a uniform. > [@up\_the\_junction](#): > > I just say this in a purely observational sense but I guess you’d have to be white\*\* and middle class\*\*. And that doesn’t even need to be a question. Dubious. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/south-carolina-police-officer-charged-with-murder/717087/133 "2015-04-09T00:51:43Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > This thread is interesting to say the least. You don’t run from cops. You just don’t. When you do you are signalling that you’re potentially dangerous. If you’re lucky the cop will taser you and arrest. **The gun is option 2.** Bolding mine. No, no it is not. It is not ‘option 2’ The gun is an option when there are no other options and the person fleeing is likely to hurt someone. There is NO indication of that in the video. ---
**Author:** ![rsa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@rsa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsa)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/south-carolina-police-officer-charged-with-murder/717087/134 "2015-04-09T01:08:41Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > Another scary thing is the number of shots fired. It appears he only hit Walker with the last 2 or 3. What kind of a moron would turn 5 rounds loose on a city street endangering all the citizens in town? Nobody corrected this yet? Eight shots, five hits. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/south-carolina-police-officer-charged-with-murder/717087/135 "2015-04-09T01:42:18Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > There’s a standard line I use with third graders who try this sort of distraction. The conversation goes something like this: > > Me: Bill, did you hit Joe in the bathroom? > Bill: JOE WAS TALKING TO ME AND HE SAID– > Me: Hold up. Stop. Think about what you’re about to say. Do you think that the thing Joe said means that you’re allowed to hit him? Do you think you’re going to tell me what Joe said, and I’ll say, “Oh, that’s fine, never mind”? > Bill: . . . no. > > And then I can continue with the conversation. AFTERWARD, if necessary, I’ll ask what Joe said, and figure out if that requires further action. But it generally has no bearing on whatever Bill did. > > **aceplace** , Hold up. Stop. Think about what you’re about to say. Do you think that the thing the dead guy did means that the cop was allowed to shoot him? Do you think you’re going to tell me what the dead guy did, and I’ll say, “Oh, that’s fine, never mind”? > > Because if you don’t think so, then leave that shit out of the conversation. It’s not relevant. > > Shit. Lots of time when someone gets murdered, they did something to provoke the murderer. Maybe they cheated on their spouse, or maybe they cheated with the murderer’s spouse. Maybe they stole some drugs. Maybe they made fun of the murderer’s mom. Maybe they deliberately and willfully put on that game show that the murderer hates. > > But guess what kind of defense we don’t allow in court cases? I love this. ---
**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 9, 2015, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/south-carolina-police-officer-charged-with-murder/717087/136 "2015-04-09T01:53:49Z")
The kinds of people that either 1. Have an outsized need to control others through physical force, and/or 2. Lack compassion for people not of their “tribe” Prolly shouldn’t be cops. And yet, it seems like a lot of cops are in at least one of these groups. ---
**Author:** ![LeaveMeAlone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@LeaveMeAlone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LeaveMeAlone)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/south-carolina-police-officer-charged-with-murder/717087/137 "2015-04-09T02:27:45Z")
Been a cop for 10 years, fought with a many perp, vehicle pursuits, chased guys with guns, tasered perps…but that was straight up murder and makes me sick…you can’t shoot unarmed perps for running. The guy could have just committed an armed robbery, doesn’t matter…can’t shoot him just because what he might do if he gets away. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/south-carolina-police-officer-charged-with-murder/717087/138 "2015-04-09T02:29:52Z")
> [@rsa](#): > > Nobody corrected this yet? Eight shots, five hits. They are trained, quite correctly, that if you must shoot someone, keep shooting until they go down. This policeman obviously, to me, shot the guy when he should not have. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/south-carolina-police-officer-charged-with-murder/717087/139 "2015-04-09T02:54:25Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I agree in this situation the cop over reacted. Over reacted? How do you describe an execution as an over reactions? ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/south-carolina-police-officer-charged-with-murder/717087/140 "2015-04-09T03:27:48Z")
> [@get\_lives](#): > > Prolly Please just don’t do this. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/south-carolina-police-officer-charged-with-murder/717087.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/south-carolina-police-officer-charged-with-murder/717087.md?page=8)