Ithaca Police Chief John Barber issued a statement on Thursday about the shooting of Walter Scott, who was killed by a South Carolina police officer.
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The police officer, Michael Slager, has been charged with murder in the case. Read more about the shooting here: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/08/us/south-carolina-officer-is-charged-with-murder-in-black-mans-death.html
Here’s Barber’s statement:
“Based on what I know through media reports, I can see no justification for the shooting of the unarmed fleeing man in North Charleston, South Carolina, and strongly condemn the actions of the responsible officer.
I feel the murder charge is appropriate and the officer needs to be held accountable for his actions.
Unfortunately, when an officer commits such a heinous act, it affects every single police officer in this country who honorably serve and protect their communities.
Police officers are held to a higher standard and an incident such as this only serves to further erode public trust in a time when many good officers, such as the men and women here at the IPD, are working hard to rebuild that trust.
As Chief of the Ithaca Police Department, I am committed to continuing to strengthen the IPD’s relationship with our community.