Statewide elected officials in South Carolina quickly condemned Tuesday the shooting of an apparently unarmed black man at the hands of a white police officer in the state.
Republican Sen. Tim Scott, who is also African-American, called the death “absolutely unnecessary and avoidable” in a posting on social media.
“After watching the video, the senseless shooting and taking of Walter Scott’s life was absolutely unnecessary and avoidable. My heart aches for the family and our North Charleston community. I will be watching this case closely,” Scott said in a message posted to Facebook and Twitter.
Tim Scott, who was born and raised in North Charleston, did not personally know Walter Scott, a spokesman for the senator said Wednesday.
And Gov. Nikki Haley, also a Republican, called the shooting “not acceptable” and reassured her constituents that “the criminal judicial process will proceed fully” in a statement to local news station WBTV.
“We have many good law enforcement officers in the field. What happened in this case is not acceptable in South Carolina, nor is it reflective of our values or of the way most of our law enforcement officials act,” Haley said in the statement. “This is a sad time for everyone in South Carolina, and I urge everyone to work together to help our community heal.”
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, the state’s senior senator, called the video of the shooting “horrific” and said it was “very difficult to watch and deeply troubling on many fronts.”
“I have full confidence this incident will continue to be investigated by the relevant authorities, the legal process will proceed, and ultimately, justice will be done,” Graham said in a statement. “I also know the actions of the officer in this situation do not accurately reflect on the many valuable contributions made by thousands of law enforcement officers in South Carolina and across our nation.”
North Charleston police officer Michael Slager, who is white, was charged with murder Tuesday after shooting at Walter Scott eight times as Scott was running away during what started as a traffic stop Saturday.
Police officials charged Slager with murder after a witness submitted a video of the shooting, which shows Scott running away as Slager firing his gun eight times and fatally shooting Scott.
The incident comes on the heels of nationwide protests over police brutality and discrimination after several other unarmed black men were killed at the hands of police officers. But even those incidents also captured on video were not handled as swiftly by police and city officials as in this case.
Twelve-year-old Tamir Rice was shot and killed by police officers who believed the toy gun Rice was holding was real. That shooting is still being investigated, and neither of the two police officers at the scene has been formally charged. And a grand jury cleared a white New York police officer in the killing of Eric Garner, an unarmed man who died after being placed in a choke-hold this summer.
The FBI is also investigating the South Carolina shooting.