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Feds to Review Police Agency at Center of Walter Scott Case
Source: Associated Press
Feds to Review Police Agency at Center of Walter Scott Case
By MEG KINNARD, ASSOCIATED PRESS
COLUMBIA, S.C. — May 16, 2016, 1:02 PM ET
The North Charleston police department will become the latest law enforcement agency to undergo an official review by the U.S. Justice Department, a year after the fatal shooting of unarmed black motorist Walter Scott.
U.S. Attorney Bill Nettles said that he and other Justice Department officials would announce details of the comprehensive review during a news conference Tuesday at North Charleston City Hall. The review was requested last month by North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey, who said he thought the department worked well but that suggestions for improvements were always welcome.
The review comes amid state and federal cases against Michael Slager, the former officer captured on cellphone video firing eight times as Scott ran from a traffic stop in April 2015. Shortly thereafter, Slager was fired and his case inflamed a national debate about how white officers treat blacks. His trial on state murder charges is scheduled to begin in October, and he pleaded not guilty last week to federal civil rights charges related to the shooting.
The factors the Justice Department's Community-Oriented Policing Services program will likely consider include a comparison of the city's racial makeup and its police department. As of March 2015, the month before Scott's death, records provided by the police department showed that, while nearly half the residents of North Charleston are black, the majority of the city's police force was white.
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By MEG KINNARD, ASSOCIATED PRESS
COLUMBIA, S.C. — May 16, 2016, 1:02 PM ET
The North Charleston police department will become the latest law enforcement agency to undergo an official review by the U.S. Justice Department, a year after the fatal shooting of unarmed black motorist Walter Scott.
U.S. Attorney Bill Nettles said that he and other Justice Department officials would announce details of the comprehensive review during a news conference Tuesday at North Charleston City Hall. The review was requested last month by North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey, who said he thought the department worked well but that suggestions for improvements were always welcome.
The review comes amid state and federal cases against Michael Slager, the former officer captured on cellphone video firing eight times as Scott ran from a traffic stop in April 2015. Shortly thereafter, Slager was fired and his case inflamed a national debate about how white officers treat blacks. His trial on state murder charges is scheduled to begin in October, and he pleaded not guilty last week to federal civil rights charges related to the shooting.
The factors the Justice Department's Community-Oriented Policing Services program will likely consider include a comparison of the city's racial makeup and its police department. As of March 2015, the month before Scott's death, records provided by the police department showed that, while nearly half the residents of North Charleston are black, the majority of the city's police force was white.
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Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/black-motorist-shot-judge-assigned-trial-officer-39142704
