Walter Scott was a South Carolina man who owed child support, and the car he drove had a broken taillight, which 33 year old Police Officer Michael T. Slager stopped him for on April 4 2015. It’s possible that slightly overweight Mr. Scott ran slowly away from the officer to avoid being arrested for his unpaid child support – we’ll never know, because Slager decided to pull out his gun and shoot Mr. Scott 8 times. One of those shots entered Mr. Scott’s heart and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Detroit suburb police terrorize & demean African American men
Police are harassing African American men in a Detroit suburb, and investigative journalist Steve Neavling has video clips and a photo of the abuse. Neavling reports in his blog, Motor City Muckraker.
“Most of the videos are shot from squad cars while African American men are told to sing or “dance like a chimp.”
The Huffington Post received a statement from Grosse Pointe Park Police Captain David Loch:
On Thursday, November 14 2013, the Grosse Pointe Park Public Safety Department was contacted by an individual who said that he was in possession of video clips and a photo of African American males. The video clips and photo are allegedly made by an officer of this department. The department has begun an internal investigation of this matter. The Grosse Pointe Park Public Safety Department does not tolerate unprofessional conduct by its officers when interacting with any citizen they may come in contact with.
NAACP’s police interaction guide: The 411 on the 5-0
The NAACP advises that the “war on crime” fought by police, sometimes results in innocent people needlessly surrendering constitutional and civil rights which they are not aware they have. The NAACP and its members support just and effective law enforcement, and also believes that people must learn how to exercise our constitutional rights to ensure that law enforcement, and law officers, work as they should: to protect all United States citizens and visitors regardless of race, ethnicity, immigration or economic status.