Murder of Walter Scott Shines Light On Cowardly Police Culture

Let me preface this article by saying that of course not all cops are bad. There are many good ones and that is obvious. Just like, you know, not every black man is dangerous and should be killed. Just saying.

The breaking news regarding the killing of Walter Scott in South Carolina has sparked outrage across the nation. As we now know, the cop, Michael Slager, completely lied about the circumstances surrounding the shooting of Mr. Scott.

A video sent to the?New York Times?shows Slager shooting at the unarmed man eight times. He was pronounced dead at the scene. What is also horrible, is that we see the officer run to pick up an object, then run back and throw it at the body of Mr. Scott. Was this a ploy to plant evidence and bolster a false story? Looks like it. The entire video shows the epitome of what is wrong with many police officers in this nation.

 

Screen grab from New York Times video
Screen grab from New York Times video

There is an overwhelming cowardice sweeping through the police force. No, not every cop is a coward and many do put their lives on the line and we are thankful for that. However, using the badge to hide behind cold blooded killing is cowardly and disgraceful.

We see so many cops killing civilians, disproportinately black and brown men, over things that no sane person would see as a rational reason. Less than a month ago, Anthony Hill was killed while running naked, clearly unarmed. What was the reasoning? We don’t have one. Recently, another video surfaced, this time of the killing of Jason Harrison. He was shot by a cop simply for holding a screwdriver. A screwdriver. And we all know about Tamir Rice. A child gunned down in less than three seconds for playing with a toy gun; the fake gun wasn’t even visible when the cop shot him. Story after story shows an atrocious pattern of cops being trigger happy and taking the lives of those they are supposed to protect. What is more cowardly than that?

It is not MERELY that they kill people for no and/or bad reasons. The lies and cover ups that happen afterwards, along with their words, show a scary and cowardly character flaw that is either bred once they?become police officer, or is a trait imbedded in them?that makes them want?the power of?being a police?officer in the first place.

Darren Wilson exemplied this by going on national television and making it seem like shooting Michael Brown in the head, twice, was an act he just had?to do. With the little to no injuries he sustained, that is impossibile to take seriously. Or go back to the Walter Scott killing. Look at the demeanor of the officer who killed him. He seems completely unbothered by what happened and of course he offered no aid to Scott.

I do not know the intention of Slager, but?after viewing the video numerous times, this is my opinion:?he wanted to kill Scott. He wanted it a lot. I could care less what story he tries to make up in the days, weeks, and months ensuing. If you carefully watch the video, you see Slager keep firing until Scott goes completely down. It didn’t seem like it would have been enough to only injure the victim, it seemed like he would only have been satisfied if he killed him. And that is unbelievably cowardly. Yet that wasn’t enough. Keeping only himself in mind. Slager?tries?to plant evidence to?make his victim look bad. The plotting and careful inconsideration is cowardly and even somewhat psycopathic.

This is not an isolated event. There are many people who have been wrongly killed by the police and I don’t care whether they were indicted/charged. These killings were wrong. From Michael Brown to Tony Robinson and more, they were not necessary. But there is also a police culture of doing whatever it takes to protect one’s self at the expense of others. An ex-NYPD cop admitted last year?that planting evidence and framing innocent people was part of being on the force.

This infallible view that cops have of themselves, confirmed by a mediocre and biased judicial system, has created?a society that enables the myriad of killings and abuse that we have seen and will continue to see.

When I was younger, there were three jobs that stood out to me for being honorable and courageous: firefighters, the military, and police officers. We honor these jobs because they have a code where protecting others is supposed to be more important than only protecting one’s self. Firemen go to where the victims are to help them; they don’t run away if it is too dangerous. In the military, desertion and letting people die to save yourself is not just anti-protocol, but often looked down upon. So why is it so acceptable in police culture? I am not saying that a cop has to go out of his way to put his life in danger, but why kill someone over nothing? Why kill over a fist? A screwdriver? What cowards.

I was born on January 13, 1990. I was born and raised in Charlotte, NC. I moved up north and attended the University of CT from 2008 to 2012. I currently also work at a law firm in Uptown Charlotte and have been helping with this organization entitled the National Independent Voter Coalition. My interests include: Politics (obviously), Basketball (playing and watching) and watching almost any sport, movies, reading, the law, human rights, entertainment, mostly Angelina Jolie and Beyonce. I am fun, caring, passionate, intelligent, and unique!