While You Were Sleeping: Michael Slager Released

It is almost a year to the day I wrote about police officer Michael Slager shooting and killing 50 year old Walter Scott (click here to read it) after Scott slapped a Taser from Slager's hands and ran away. He was shot eight times and left to die on the ground as someone recorded the entire thing. I decided to see what has happened with this case since then. I assumed that Slager was sentenced or already just getting used to life inside of a cage for the rest of his life for murdering another human.

Turns out I was wrong.

He's been free on bond since January of this year. Slager was denied bond back in September but the judge changed his mind since the trial isn't set until October of this year because the state is busy planning the Dylann Roof trial. He's the kid that shot and killed nine people at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. Slager will not be allowed to leave his home except for court visits, the doctor, church and to see his attorneys who argued that it would be wrong to keep him in jail any longer because the food contained gluten and affected his celiac disease.

Scott's father Walter Scott Sr. wanted Slager to stay in jail and said to the judge “I don't think Mr. Slager had any remorse after watching that video. Every time I look at it, it makes me cry. I feel he should stay where he's at so he could feel the pain I feel.” North Charleston has removed Slager from his position as a civilian killer and approved a civil suit worth $6.5 million to the Scott family last October. In my previous post I mentioned all these law enforcement agencies that were going to look into this case. That has not happened. Nothing has happened except that a man that shot another one eight times is at home having lunch with his family while another is dead.

How is this okay in any country on the planet? If he were not a policeman at the time he did this he would have been convicted in moments. But the fact that he held a particular job at the time means that he can literally get away with murder. A killer is free and no one is talking about it and that should terrify everyone.

I do not care what this guy did for a living or what race he is. If you think what he did was okay or justified you live in a reality that I don't want to take part in. It should never be okay to shoot someone because they are jogging away from you. Eight times. He shot another human eight times. If he did that to a dog half that amount there would still be protests calling for his conviction and death. But since its a Black guy I guess there is still room for his innocence, right? 

Click here for previous While You Were Sleeping.