Geraldo: Dashcam Video Should Clear S.C. Cop Of Murder Charge (VIDEO)

Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

Fox News contributor Geraldo Rivera on Friday morning said that new dashcam footage that shows Walter Scott running away from his car at a traffic stop should clear South Carolina police officer Michael Thomas Slager of the murder charge.

“I’m extremely glad that they released the dash cam video because it gives context to the event. However horrific and tragic and outrageous the shooting in the back is, it shows that it started as a righteous traffic stop,” Rivera said on “Fox and Friends.”

Rivera said that Scott “was acting very hinky, very edgy” and that he allegedly struggled with Slager after the officer used his stun gun.

“So, up until that point the cop, with his adrenaline pumping, now he’s been in a physical tussle, now the perpetrator has reached for the taser, allegedly. Now it gives you the context of his blood boiling,” Rivera said. “He has done everything professional and now … this civilian has dared to physically have this altercation with the officer.”

“Put that in the officer’s head now. I think it saves him from the murder rap,” Rivera said.

“Even though you see him shooting him in the back dead?” “Fox and Friends” co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck jumped in to ask.

“That’s an excellent point,” Rivera responded. “This is a horrible, horrible shooting. But there was no premeditation. This is manslaughter.”

Rivera added that a “physical altercation” does not give a police officer the “justification to aim and to calmly plug someone.”

Later, Rivera said that we must judge an officer “in his shoes” because “it’s an intense experience.”

North Charleston, S.C., police officer Michael Thomas Slager was charged with murder on Tuesday after a video showed him shooting unarmed black man Walter Scott in the back as he ran away. Slager alleged that he felt threatened by Scott and that Scott tried to take his stun gun, according to police.

Dashcam footage released on Thursday shows Scott leaving his car and running away during a traffic stop by Slager.

Watch the “Fox and Friends” clip:

Latest Livewire

Notable Replies

  1. Fuckin’ moron Jerry Riviera is! The only thing he knows about physical altercations is raping Bette Midler, who was high as a kite, in her battub!

  2. Avatar for pine pine says:

    “Rivera said that Scott “was acting very hinky, very edgy” and that he
    allegedly struggled with Slager after the officer used his stun gun.”

    Unfortunately for you Jerry,that base has already been covered:

    “U.S. Supreme CourtTennessee v. Garner, 471 U.S. 1 (1985)Tennessee v. GarnerNo. 83-1035Argued October 30, 1984Decided March 27, 1985*471 U.S. 1APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUITJUSTICE WHITE delivered the opinion of the Court.This
    case requires us to determine the constitutionality of the use of
    deadly force to prevent the escape of an apparently unarmed suspected
    felon. We conclude that such force may not be used unless it is
    necessary to prevent the escape and the officer has probable cause to
    believe that the suspect poses a significant threat of death or serious
    physical injury to the officer or others.”

  3. Hmmmmm…

    Intense…horrible…blood boiling…

    Maybe the officer planned it anyway…

    with all those emotions still swirling in his brain after looking at FOX “news” before starting his shift…

  4. Here I thought Geraldo was like a licensed Attorney and all… Guess it’s true that working at FAUX firsts rots your ethics and morals, then your soul, and finally your brain loses the ability for critical thinking.

  5. FOX News has become the shill for the KKK…I’m sorry, but the dashcam video proves that this white police officer gunned down an unarmed black man in cold blood. I don’t care if the man was running. What’s worse- the officer had a **** tazer- and while yes, they aren’t necessarily perfect- he never once tried to take down Scott with less than deadly force.

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

136 more replies

Participants

Avatar for booch221 Avatar for bart Avatar for old_curmudgeon Avatar for ncsteve Avatar for liberaljesus Avatar for artemisia Avatar for avattoir Avatar for steviedee111 Avatar for thepsyker Avatar for inlabsitrust Avatar for sandyh Avatar for mrcomments Avatar for sniffit Avatar for chuck_voellinger Avatar for blueberrytomatosoup Avatar for daveyjones64 Avatar for sherlock1 Avatar for sonsofares Avatar for midnight_rambler Avatar for quaker_in_a_basement Avatar for topchap Avatar for pine Avatar for darrtown Avatar for albesure

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: