Walter Scott and the Criminal Injustice System

And also in the human rights revolution, if something isn't done, and done in a hurry, to bring the colored peoples of the world out of their long years of poverty, their long years of hurt and neglect, the whole world is doomed.

n  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 47 years ago this week

The headline: North Charleston officer faces murder charge after video shows him shooting man in back, April 7

South Carolina Officer Is Charged With Murder in Black Man's Death, April 7

The dig: How can we address the recurring problem of police violence against black males?

The Facts

The story and video are linked above: earlier this week a black male, Walter Scott, was killed by a police officer after being confronted for a slight violation—here a broken taillight. The incident was caught on video where it is clear Mr. Scott was fleeing from the officer and shows no evidence that Mr. Scott was either armed or dangerous. The NAACP has previously claimed racial profiling by the police department in question. We have read very similar incident descriptions too many times over the past year. However, the officer in this video has been charged with murder—something which has not occurred enough over the past year.

Legally, under Tennessee v. Garner (1985) an officer may not use deadly force against an “apparently unarmed, nondangerous feeling suspect” unless that force is 1) “necessary to prevent the escape”, and 2) “the officer has probable cause to believe that the suspect poses a significant threat” of death or serious injury. The officer’s actions must be viewed from the objective standard of a reasonable officer. Thus, unless a reasonable officer would have believed that a seemingly unarmed, pentagenarian Mr. Scott posed a significant threat of death or serious injury to a person, the charge here is valid.

In fairness to the officer, there appears to have been an altercation between the parties before the video began. In fairness to Walter Scott, the threat of that altercation clearly ended when the video shows Mr. Scott turning and running away. Moreover, the officer’s account of the encounter contradicts that video evidence. A dead man may tell no tales, but fortunately a camera does.

What does this mean?

While a guilty verdict in this case may bring justice in the courtroom, it would do nothing to address the injustice in the streets. In isolation, the case of Walter Scott may have been viewed as a tragedy in which the guilty party was property brought to trial. But after cases in Florida, Missouri, Ohio, New York, and elsewhere around the US, it cannot be viewed as such. Justice is not only a prosecutorial decision to charge or a jury verdict. Justice is a complex system which, in the US, begins with the disproportionate harassment of blacks by police and ends with disproportionate populations of blacks incarcerated generally and on death row. Another black life was lost this week that didn’t need to be. A murder charge won’t change that.

These recent cases which have caught the nation’s attention are icebergs in a sea of blood. They are not isolated, but simply so dramatic as to catch the attention of those privileged enough to not have seen or experienced more subtle—and more prevalent—episodes throughout their lives.

Complicated solutions

If we as a society are looking for one incident, one wrongdoer, or one problem to address and move on, we will not solve the bias in the American criminal justice system against blacks, and black males in particular. From unconscious personal biases and latent systemic discrimination to sentencing guidelines and police force training, there is society-wide work to be done. For any change to occur we must take the available statistics seriously, listen to the daily difficulties of our fellow Americans, and decide which campaigning politicians would best address this deeply important issue.

Two score and seven years ago this week Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. proclaimed that he had reached the mountaintop and saw the promised land of equality and freedom before him. While he knew we would not reach such a place in his lifetime, he may nonetheless have been mistaken. Insofar as our criminal justice system in 2015 is concerned, tough climbing seems to lie ahead before we can take our gentle descent to the land of which Dr. King spoke, and for which he so stubbornly fought. But with reflection and compassion we can take steps to address some of the deep causes of injustice in the American criminal justice system. We owe that much to the innocent lives, like Walter Scott, that we have lost.