South preach
Rev. Al praises response to shooting
THE REV. Al Sharpton took to the podium in a South Carolina church Sunday to praise the mayor’s swift response to the police shooting of unarmed black man Walter Scott.
Keith Summey, North Charleston’s mayor, was inside the Charity Missionary Baptist Church along with Police Chief Eddie Driggers as Sharpton hailed them for swiftly firing the officer charged with killing Scott.
“What this mayor did is what we’ve asked mayors to do all over the country,” Sharpton said.
“(Summey) said it best when he said, ‘Wrong is wrong,’ ” the reverend continued.
“In the Deep South, a mayor and police chief did what we couldn’t get mayors in the North and the Midwest to do,” he added.
He later led the family in a small vigil at the grassy spot along a secluded path were Scott died April 4.
The man charged in his death, Police Officer Michael Slager, 33, was dismissed when video surfaced that showed him pumping five bullets into Scott.
Scott, 50, had tried to flee after Slager pulled him over in a routine traffic stop.
Slager, 33 (below), has been jailed without bond and charged with murder.
The seemingly cold-hearted crime only became public knowledge because a witness — unseen by Slager — captured it on his cell phone and later shared the video with Scott’s devastated family.
Slager told police Scott grabbed for his Taser — prompting the barrage of bullets.
“Shots fired, subject is down,” Slager said into his radio as Scott lay unmoving on the grass.
“He grabbed my Taser,” Slager said.
Video from Slager’s dash cam was released to the media Thursday. It showed the officer pulling Scott over, and then Scott’s abrupt flight. The dash cam kept recording and later caught an exchange between Slager and an officer who responded to the scene.
The officer advised him to “kind of jot down your thoughts on what happened . . . once the adrenaline quits pumping,” according to The Guardian, a British newspaper.
Slager responded with an audible chuckle of agreement.
“It’s pumping,” he said, with a short burst of laughter.
“What happens next?” he asked.
The officer told him he’d be brought to police headquarters and then home.
“It’ll be real quick. . . . They’re not going to ask you any kind of questions right now. They’ll take your weapon, and we’ll go from there. That’s pretty much it,” said the officer, who was not identified on the tape.