United States: a white police officer charged with murder after shooting a Black
A white police officer was arrested and charged with murder Tuesday in North Charleston, South Carolina (Southeast US), after having fired several shots at an unarmed black man who seemed to flee amid racial tensions particularly acute.
The officer, Michael Slager, shot eight times in the back of the man running after being arrested during a routine traffic stop, can we see in a video released by the New York Times and sent by a witness.
On the video, then sees the policeman walk calmly to the man, Walter Scott, who is 50 years old, urging him to put his hands in his back and handcuff him.
The man died a few minutes later.
The incident occurred on Saturday after a traffic stop, one of the lights of the Human vehicle no longer functioning.
A brief confrontation would have opposed the two men before the shooting, said the local newspaper Post and Courier.
The officer, who risk the death penalty or 30 years imprisonment, was transferred to the detention center Charleston County, police said in a statement.
In the arrest warrant for the police and that the AFP has obtained, it is stated that "Thomas Slager (...) illegally and with premeditation killed the victim."
"He shot the victim several times in the back after an altercation."
The Mayor Keith Summey, said at a press conference that the arrest of the police officer was motivated by his "bad decision", reported the Post and Courier.
"When you take a wrong decision, whether you are here to protect the public or private citizen in the street, you have to live with that decision," said the aedile, quoted by the daily.
Before the video is broadcast, the officer reportedly said that Walter Scott had assaulted and seized his Taser.
Improve police-minority relationships
At a press conference held Tuesday evening, the brother of the victim questioned: "If there was no video, can we know the truth Or would we have seen this? that came out recently? But now we know the truth. "
The family's lawyer said that during the announcement prosecution, the family "started screaming and hugging, it brought a brief feeling of deliverance."
"The way we have to go to seek justice starts here."
Contacted by AFP, South Carolina Police declined to comment on the case because the investigation is ongoing.
The incident comes amid already tense and risks rekindling racial tensions in the United States, already shaken by numerous cases of black men killed or brutalized by white police officers.
Death early August in Ferguson (Missouri) a young unarmed Black, killed by a white police officer, had provoked demonstrations throughout the country to protest police violence against blacks.
The policeman Ferguson was ultimately not prosecuted for lack of evidence, but the Department of Justice published a damning report on customary racist practices of the police and city officials, many of whom resigned in stride.
The report was highly anticipated events at Ferguson, added to other police misconduct, who for months fueled anger in the black community and civil rights.
Barack Obama, the first black president of the United States, had himself said in a radio interview that it was going to Ferguson "is not an isolated incident."
The White House had then recommended that fundamental changes taking place in American police forces, to improve relations between minorities and the police.
A Department of Justice dedicated to improving relations between the police and the black community (Cops) was notably created.
The officer, Michael Slager, shot eight times in the back of the man running after being arrested during a routine traffic stop, can we see in a video released by the New York Times and sent by a witness.
On the video, then sees the policeman walk calmly to the man, Walter Scott, who is 50 years old, urging him to put his hands in his back and handcuff him.
The man died a few minutes later.
The incident occurred on Saturday after a traffic stop, one of the lights of the Human vehicle no longer functioning.
A brief confrontation would have opposed the two men before the shooting, said the local newspaper Post and Courier.
The officer, who risk the death penalty or 30 years imprisonment, was transferred to the detention center Charleston County, police said in a statement.
In the arrest warrant for the police and that the AFP has obtained, it is stated that "Thomas Slager (...) illegally and with premeditation killed the victim."
"He shot the victim several times in the back after an altercation."
The Mayor Keith Summey, said at a press conference that the arrest of the police officer was motivated by his "bad decision", reported the Post and Courier.
"When you take a wrong decision, whether you are here to protect the public or private citizen in the street, you have to live with that decision," said the aedile, quoted by the daily.
Before the video is broadcast, the officer reportedly said that Walter Scott had assaulted and seized his Taser.
Improve police-minority relationships
At a press conference held Tuesday evening, the brother of the victim questioned: "If there was no video, can we know the truth Or would we have seen this? that came out recently? But now we know the truth. "
The family's lawyer said that during the announcement prosecution, the family "started screaming and hugging, it brought a brief feeling of deliverance."
"The way we have to go to seek justice starts here."
Contacted by AFP, South Carolina Police declined to comment on the case because the investigation is ongoing.
The incident comes amid already tense and risks rekindling racial tensions in the United States, already shaken by numerous cases of black men killed or brutalized by white police officers.
Death early August in Ferguson (Missouri) a young unarmed Black, killed by a white police officer, had provoked demonstrations throughout the country to protest police violence against blacks.
The policeman Ferguson was ultimately not prosecuted for lack of evidence, but the Department of Justice published a damning report on customary racist practices of the police and city officials, many of whom resigned in stride.
The report was highly anticipated events at Ferguson, added to other police misconduct, who for months fueled anger in the black community and civil rights.
Barack Obama, the first black president of the United States, had himself said in a radio interview that it was going to Ferguson "is not an isolated incident."
The White House had then recommended that fundamental changes taking place in American police forces, to improve relations between minorities and the police.
A Department of Justice dedicated to improving relations between the police and the black community (Cops) was notably created.
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