North Charleston police are facing growing accusations that killer cop Michael Slager would have got away with a cover up had a bystander video not emerged - as questions emerge over his colleagues' conduct after the shooting. Seven of Slager's fellow cops responded to his call forback-up after the shooting - as handcuffed Walter Scott lay dead or dying with five bullet wounds to the back.
But the fact that his wounds were to the back do not feature in subsequent accounts of the shooting given to the media, or in the force's incident report filed after the shooting. Officers also told an internal report that they gave Scott CPR, but the video only shows them checking his pulse and standing over his body. One officer is also present when Slager picks up an object - allegedly his Taser - and puts it near Scott's body. Scott's father said of the incident: 'It would have never come to light [had video not emerged]. They would have swept it under the rug, like they did with many others.' Slager's former attorney had initially claimed that the officer fired on Scott during a struggle for his Taser and had felt threatened. 'When confronted, Officer Slager reached for his Taser — as trained by the department — and then a struggle ensued,' David Aylor said. 'The driver tried to overpower Officer Slager in an effort to take his Taser. [He] felt threatened and reached for his department-issued firearm and fired his weapon.' On Wednesday North Charleston Mayor Keith Sumney refused to answer a question on Slager's fellow officers' culpability, saying it would be addressed in the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division [SLED] investigation. There are also questions over discrepancies between responding officers' version of events in an internal incident report and what the witness video shows. It is not known what accounts those officers gave to the subsequent SLED investigation. The video of the shooting shows Officer Clarence Haberdasham was the first to arrive on scene as Scott lay handcuffed on the ground.
As Haberdasham arrives, Slager runs back to position where he fired the fatal shots and appears to retrieve a dark object - claimed to be his Taser - and places it next to Scott's body.
Haberdasham dons a pair of blue gloves, checks Scott's pulse, goes through his pockets and speaks on his radio and then walks away.
Radio records show that an officer reported that Scott had gunshot wounds to the chest and right side and was 'unresponsive'. He later added that the vicitm had wounds to the back. Both Slager and Haberdasham stand over Scott's body, which remains handcuffed and face down.
The same officer's account of events as reported in the NCPD incident report obtained by BuzzFeed is two sentences. The second reads: 'I attempted to render aid to the victim by applying pressure to the gunshot wounds and directing the best route for EMS and fire to get to the victim faster.'
The report is signed off by Sergeant James Gann. He states: 'I arrived on scene and observed that Officer Haberdasham was administering first aid to the driver. I exited my vehicle and assisted Officer Haberdasham with first aid and CPR to the driver.' He says they continued to give CPR until EMS arrived and Scott was pronounced dead. There is no evidence in Feidin Santana's video that Scott received CPR. A second video of the scene shows two other police officers arriving at the scene and getting out a medical kit. But they do not give CPR. Six other officers' version of what happened after the shooting is recorded in the incident report. They were: R. Terrell, J Bariss, M Cooper, R Killin, B Williams, and Sgt Webb. They all say that they heard Slager's call for help and arrived at the scene later. Gann says the crime scene was handed over to SLED, who then concluded their crime scene investigation that day. Edward Bryant III, president of the North Charleston NAACP, also told the Los Angeles Times that he suspects North Charleston cops have covered up other shootings. He said; 'This incident fits a pattern of abuse that has gone on for years. There is a code of conduct to cover their behinds. We call it Code Blue.'
Marc Moria, President of the president of the National Urban League, told the Washington Post: 'But for this video, this would have been another coverup, another fabrication, another lie told by a police officer when the police officer was clearly in the wrong.'
The discrepancies were also discussed on MSNBC's Morning Joe this morning.
Host Joe Scarborough said: 'That cop is two feet away when he dropped the taser next to the dead body. I'm sorry, what cop is okay with that?'
Mika Brzezinski added: 'There should be more charges'
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