title:  Today Is The One-Year Anniversary Of Walter Scott’s Murder By Cop (VIDEO)
text: On April 4th, 2015, 50-year-old Walter Scott, a father of four, was pulled over by Officer Michael Slager in North Charleston, South Carolina. The cop reportedly stopped him for a broken brake light. The officer lied and said Scott attacked him and took his taser, but a bystander recorded the incident on a cell phone to the horrifying dismay of the country. The video clearly shows an unarmed Scott running away from the officer. Instead of pursuing Scott, the officer fires eight shots, killing Scott.The city agreed to pay Scott s family $6.5 million, and a grand jury handed down a murder indictment for Officer Michael Slager. Such settlements and indictments for police officers who shoot people are extremely rare, and Walter Scott is one of many black victims over the past few years to be killed by a white police officer, while police departments across the country fail to assume accountability for these constant occurrences. Freddie Gray, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, Tanisha Anderson, John Crawford III, Michael Brown Jr   the list goes on and on.People of color are increasingly at risk for being at the wrong place at the wrong time when it comes to excessive force used by many police departments. Instead of holding the officers and their departments accountable, the victims are often subjected to attacks and criticisms to disregard the outrage, unrest, and civil disobedience in cities like Ferguson, Missouri or Baltimore, Maryland. They don t acknowledge the pain and trauma inflicted on these communities by police departments who police in ways that render unarmed people being shot to death. The officer is currently out on bail of $500,000 awaiting trial later this year. This is a travesty, as given the nature of the crime, no bail should have been granted. Non-violent criminals have received stricter bail bonds. Slager also tried to sue the Southern States Police Benevolent Association for not helping him with his defense.Hopefully, there is a murder conviction in this man s future.Featured image via Flickr