photo courtesy ksat.com NCLEO4J demands justice in shooting by white cop of black unarmed SC man. North Charleston, South Carolina authorities were swift and decisive in their response to the video depicting a white police officer, on duty, shooting an unarmed black man as he ran away. Now we want justice!!! The National Coalition of Law Enforcement Officers for Justice Reform & Accountability (NCLEO4J) consists of a diverse ethnic group of veteran, retired police officers from across the nation. The NCLEO4J applauds South Carolina authorities’ quick response in the arrest of Police Officer Michael Thomas Slager who was charged in the death of, unarmed, Walter…
photo courtesy ksat.com
NCLEO4J demands justice in shooting by white cop of black unarmed SC man.
North Charleston, South Carolina authorities were swift and decisive in their response to the video depicting a white police officer, on duty, shooting an unarmed black man as he ran away. Now we want justice!!!
The National Coalition of Law Enforcement Officers for Justice Reform & Accountability (NCLEO4J) consists of a diverse ethnic group of veteran, retired police officers from across the nation. The NCLEO4J applauds South Carolina authorities’ quick response in the arrest of Police Officer Michael Thomas Slager who was charged in the death of, unarmed, Walter Lamer Scott, 50. The mayor and police chief received a cellphone video that appeared to show Scott fleeing as Slager fired approximately eight shots in his direction; charges were filed less than an hour later.
Now that South Carolina has taken this very important first step in arresting and charging Slager with murder, the NCLEO4J along with the Scott family and an outraged community demand justice and accountability. NCLEO4J is looking forward to an equally swift and aggressive prosecution in this case.
It would appear that failure, by some police agencies, to aggressively pursue prosecution of egregious acts perpetrated by police officers has created a “teflon cop” type of atmosphere. Some police officers have been shown to act with impunity when it comes to the killing of black and brown men and exacerbated by the officers subsequent willingness to manufacture (false) probable cause to justify that thing that we all know is unjustifiable.
When police chiefs and police commissioners coddle dishonest police officers and circle the wagons to protect their police department rather than the community to which they promised to protect (& serve) we are left to scratch our collective heads in disbelief.
What is it going to take to stop this madness? When are police officers who abuse their authority going to be held accountable? Are we as a society finally ready to require our police officers to articulate that “fear for safety” in a real and undeniable way before we just “take their word?”
But for that cellphone video, Officer Slager’s version of the deadly shooting would stand alone. We have seen too many times where eyewitness testimony is discounted, if you come from the wrong side of the tracks; victims of deadly force are vilified and the exaggerating, fabricating police officer lives to offend again as in the deaths of Mike Brown, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, John Crawford III and Ezell Ford.
This latest incident in South Carolina is not the first time that the South Carolina authorities have demonstrated a willingness and desire to seek justice. Remember in September 2014, when Levar Edward Jones had been stopped by a South Carolina state trooper, Sean M. Groubert, in Columbia and asked to show his driver’s license? As Jones reached inside his SUV to retrieve the license the SC trooper shot at him four times. Thankfully, Jones survived. Groubert was fired within two weeks and charged with felony assault and battery “of a high and aggravated nature.”
The National Coalition of Law Enforcement Officers for Justice, Reform & Accountability will be watching as we continue to advocate on behalf of and with the families of victims of police brutality and deadly force.
It is the intention of the NCLEO4J to stand in support of victim families, movements and legislators like Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, co-sponsor of the” Build Trust Act.” NCLEO4J stands with a group of USC students who are involved in legislative research and advocacy entitled, “End Racial Profiling Act 2015.”
We endeavor to end the institutional racism that shapes every part of the United States criminal justice system, and work to end police culture that shields abusive and criminal officers from accountability while attacking those who point out their crimes and abuses — this is the NCLEO4J mission.
— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
Visit source:
Retired Police Officers Applaud Arrest in SC Shooting of Unarmed Black Man
