A white former police officer from Charleston SC has been denied bail after he shot an unarmed black man eight times. The Circuit Court Judge, Clifton Newman, decided that ex-officer Micheal Slager would constitute "an unreasonable danger to the community," if allowed to walk free after shooting Walter Scott and then planting evidence.
Analysis: Though what happened to Walter Scott is a tragedy, it's definitely a step in the right direction that Micheal Slager was convicted without bail. American police officers are much more violent than their counterparts in other countries and we should work to change that. This is an issue that has gotten a lot of media coverage lately with the events of the last year or so, including the deaths of Micheal Brown and Tamir Rice. This is has been compared over and over again to the civil rights movement of the 1960s, and it is a very accurate comparison. I hope the trend of holding officers accountable for their actions continues.
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/09/14/440337277/bail-denied-for-former-police-officer-who-shot-and-killed-unarmed-black-man
I enjoyed reading your current event, but especially your analysis! I like how you compared American police officers to those in other countries. I agree this is a tragedy, but it's good that things like this continue to make the news. That shows that it isn't okay and as long as news channels and stations continue to cover stories like this, it will never become part of the norm.
ReplyDeleteThank you,
Mykaela Johnson