Eyewitness Nearly Erased South Carolina Shooting Video Out of Fear
NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C., April 9 (UPI) — The once-anonymous eyewitness who recorded a South Carolina police officer fatally shooting an apparently unarmed man in the back said he almost erased the video out of fear for his safety.
Feidin Santana, 23, said he immediately understood the magnitude of his cellphone video showing North Charleston police Officer Michael Slager fatally shooting Walter Scott as Scott was running away Saturday.
“I felt that my life, with this information, might be in danger. I thought about erasing the video and just getting out of the community, you know Charleston, and living some place else,” Santana said in an interview on MSNBC’s “All In With Chris Hayes” Wednesday. “I knew the cop didn’t do the right thing.”
Santana said he witnessed a struggle between Scott and Slager before the shooting, but the officer did not appear to be in danger when he opened fire as Scott was running away. Slager told investigators Scott took his Taser and he feared for his life. Santana said he never saw Scott grab for the officer’s Taser.
“Before I started recording, they were down on the floor. I remember the police [officer] had control of the situation,” Santana said. “He had control of Scott. And Scott was trying just to get away from the Taser. But like I said, he never used the Taser against the cop.”
“As you can see in the video, the police officer just shot him in the back,” Santana said. “I knew right away, I had something on my hands.”
Investigators said Scott, 50, was pulled over for a broken taillight and fled for unknown reasons, which led to a foot chase. Santana said he was walking to work when he saw the incident unfold. The video shows a short struggle between Slager and Scott before Scott starts running and Slager opens fire. It also shows a dark object dropped right before the shooting. Moments later, Slager is seen dropping a dark object near Scott’s body.
The shooting has reignited national scrutiny of law enforcement’s use of excessive force, particularly for African-American suspects. Federal and state officials have launched investigations into the shooting. Slager was charged with murder.
