Police officer charged with murder in South Carolina after shooting unarmed man in the back. What do you think of cases like this?

OK, Zero to dead in 4 minutes. Enough PC crap: The following are NO-KIDDING safety training tips for Black people (well anybody) from a former cop. Before you step into a vehicle, even as a passenger make sure you (or the driver) has a current and valid driver's license. Examine it, look at the expiration date. Then demand to see (or verify you have) the registration and proof of insurance and they are current and valid and you know exactly where they are. Then do a vehicle walk around. Test every light and signal to make sure they work, including the light over the license plate. Make sure you license plate is firmly attached and the validation decals are visible. Then scrape off any decals or other visible means of identification of you and your car as belonging to a minority member. So to be blunt: Get rid of the Jamaican Rastafarian flag and don't heavily tint your car windows in excess of your state regulations. Don't drive around slowly playing gangsta rap music and posing, because the cops will think you are a gangsta and treat you like one.

Black people -- the majority of cops are good, decent, hard working and dedicated. But there are a butt load of Bad cops willing stop people for any conceivable violation so they can get a look, because most time most Black folks (and this is just my experience) never have their admin stuff together which just gives a bad cop more room to continue to delay and screw with you. A bad cop will screw with white folks as well, just black folks are statistically more likely to have more things wrong because most times they don't have the money to fix the problem. This poor guy Walter Scott, when you watch the video was slow to get the license, had some story about going to buy the car, didn't have the papers and on and on. He didn't know his tail light was out since he was just planning to buy the car. That led to the stop. He was also worried about a possible warrant out for his arrest. You think there is a warrant? Go turn yourself in and get it fixed. Better than getting killed. Thank you for reading this and feel free to pass this along. I've trained my kids and they are white professionals - because this can happen to anybody and it happens all to often in this nation. Black (all lives) matter.

Using your argument with Islamist, would you still say the same? Or with citizens with CCW's? I will say that there are good with the bad. It is evident in all professions. From clowns claiming to be better than they are , (Stolen Valor) to guards, to EMT, and you name it. Even firefighters who have caused fires to look like heroes. So I will stick to my loyalties and back each and every LE officer and maybe, follow the law, obey their commands, be polite and respectful, and bet I am not pictured on youtube being chased and shot by anyone.

SFC Jeff Stevenson Sergeant; If you had phrased your question as "Using your argument with Muslims, would you still say the same?", my answer would be "Yes.".

However, that was not the question you asked.

The question you asked was the equivalent of "Using your argument with 'sociopathic murderers' would you still claim that most of them were not 'sociopathic murderers'?"

It helps to keep the distinctions between "Muslim", "Islamist", and "Sociopathic Murderer" clear when referring to people.

If you want to ask me "Should we be acting on the assumption that not all Sociopathic Murderers are Sociopathic Murderers?" my answer is going to be "No.".

SFC Stevenson: " So I will stick to my loyalties and back each and every LE officer..."

You acknowledge that that there are bad cops out there yet you still state you will back "each and every LE officer". Why are you backing bad cops? That is one of the biggest problems with law enforcement and one of the biggest complaints the public has against law enforcement. When bad cops are identified, all too often the system backs the bad cop instead of treating them like the criminal with a badge that they are.

As for your closing remark, I wonder if you blame the lady with the short skirt for the criminal activities of her assaulter the same as you blame the unarmed father running away for the criminal activities of the murderous law enforcement officer? What about the LEOs that arrived on scene after the shooting and lied in their official reports to help cover for the killer cop?

I recon he's lucky he got shot because the next charges he would have got would have been without a doubt resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer. Then he would have been beaten while handcuffed and had narcotics and weapons found on him and then committed suicide in his jail cell. Pretty much standard across the country no matter what color you are, it just depends who the majority minority is in the area of the unchecked police proceedures and the SWAT Team mentality for a traffic offense and an officer hates when the people know their constitutional rights which contradict his police authority so he loses all common sense instead of just saying " I'll give you a warming this time .. have a nice day."

Without the video we would not have seen the officer planting his Taser next to the victim. Without the video most would have believed the officer's claim the victim took his Taser and was going to use it against the officer. Without the video most would believe the officer claim that he was "in fear for my life" and had to shoot. Without the video most would have believed the falsified police reports filed by arriving officers that help cover for the shooter.

The victim was a father behind on child support payments (a civil offense recently turned into a criminal matter). The event began with a traffic stop claiming the 3rd brake light was out. The victim ran off during the computer check. The officer was uninjured. After the officer caught up to the victim in the park (arms distance), witnesses said the victim ran again to avoid being Tasered in retaliation for running. When the victim ran, the officer pulled his gun and fired. After shooting the officer radioed that the victim took his Taser. After cuffing the dying victim (proper protocol) the officer retrieved his Taser and dropped it next to the victim to justify the shooting. I guess the father will not be making any child support payments and the child will live life without the support of his father. The "criminals" in this incident all wore badges.

Sir, a "warning" is never required when lethal force is justified. In fact many jurisdictions outlawed things like "warning shots" and many others prohibit it by policy. Lethal force is not justified against an unarmed fleeing misdemeanor suspect that does not pose an immediate threat.

I don't know about this officer but I was taught in the Academy to NOT shoot a suspect who was facing/running away from me.

"In combat arms, we are taught to not engage an enemy if they are not facing us and if they are not posing a threat to anyone else." Hmm, not sure if you are saying exactly what you meaning... You might just be misusing the term "enemy".

We were taught to shoot targets moving towards us and moving away from us. I liked shooting pop-up and moving targets much more that fixed paper bull's eyes. We were also taught to set ambushes and sometimes we let the patrol pass through the L before opening fire --effectively shooting the "enemy" in the back. In combat it does not matter if the "enemy" is facing you or running with his back toward you.

ARDP 3-0 defines an enemy as “a party identified as hostile against which the use of
force is authorized”. Front, back, side, top or bottom -- as long as they haven't surrendered or been captured, the use of force is generally authorized but that is where the ROE comes into play.

CPO (Join to see) it is referring to the fact that someone shot at me but stopped firing and is now running away. My unit trained me to not engage a person that is running away.

In limited situations that may be true but I think you should seek clarification on that. If the attacker is still armed then lethal force is typically still authorized. An armed attacker that will shoot at a Soldier/Cop is generally still viewed as an immediate threat to the public even if the attacker turns and runs away while still carrying his firearm. If the fleeing attacker is armed and you have a clear shot (in range, nothing in the way, no bystander/hazard in the background, etc), in most situations you are likely justified to use lethal force (aka: shoot). However, the ROE changes based off location and mission so follow the ROE for your specific operation.

I think yelling racism tends to turn off some people who would normally be incline to support the victim's cause. I feel police mistreatment is more often related to class than race or ethnicity but the later two influences are still alive and well. Individuals who can afford legal representation, especially if they have access to key civilian figures (chief, mayor, council, governor, etc), are treated with far less abuse that those without such protection.

To remain calm and collected during/after a fire fight is an admired characteristic in the military so it does not shock or disturb me to see LEO act that way. In fact, in truly life threatening situations, it is typically a sign of professionalism. I admire the professionalism you can hear in the voice on the cockpit recorder when things are going bad, as compared to the screams and cries often heard in the recording of other professions when things go bad.

The officer does look a little stunned watching the other officers in the longer version of the video. But the motivation for shock could be different by that point.

The reports that arriving officers falsified their official reports to support the shooting is evidence that "this kind of stuff" happens more often than one might think. The mere fact that the second officer on the scene allowed the shooter to alter the crime scene and plant evidence without calling BS is a big flag as to how acceptable it may be within that agency.