Micheal Slager is a 35 your old former policemen. He was accused of having shot a black man named Walter Scott without reason in Ferguson, Missouri. The cop was suspended for this offence which took place in 2015. Slager was out on bail after the shooting. After his guilty plea, he has led away in handcuffs. Sleger admitted his guilt in a bargain plea after the jury was deadlocked. In return, the state agreed to drop the murder case against him. Slager admitted to violating Scott's Civil Rights by shooting him without justification.
The ex-cop will not get away for his crime and could spend at least 20 years in prison, as well as pay a $ 250,000 fine
Classic case
This case became a classic case and fueled the "black lives matter" movement that emerged sometime in 2014. This case was used by many people as an example that white officers too often use unnecessary force against black people. If figures have any meaning we have the chilling news that 308 black persons were killed by the police in 2016. This is 3 times more than the white people and it must be noted that the blacks number just about 15% of the population in the USA
Video evidence
Slager was nailed on the basis of a video taken by a bystander. The state prosecutor Scarlett Wilson in a statement said that she was satisfied with the resolution of the case.
The police officer would have probably escaped punishment in case the video had not surfaced. The ex-cops defence that he shot Scott as he felt threatened by him did not hold water, after the surfacing of the video. It also showed the police officer was cooking a tall story.
In some respects America has not really changed much as far as the attitude of the police is concerned but there is a glimmer of hope that the long arm of justice and law catches up with the culprit.Scott's mother commented after the verdict "that God never fails".
Another case
Information about another similar case has been received. This has been reported by API. The US Justice Department has decided not to launch any prosecution against 2 police officers at Baton Rouge.These Police officers were involved in the fatal shooting of a black man. This shooting was captured on a mobile phone.
It is being circulated all over the USA. This shows that the black man has a long way to go to be treated as an equal by the police. This decision of the Justice Department has not been made public yet. In the meantime, it's a matter of satisfaction that the white police cop will spend time behind bars. He will have a lot of time to reflect on his act. Despite this many policemen are also being shot and killed.
