Can Michael Slager conviction lead to greater trust in police?

Judy Scott, incredibly, forgives Michael Slager for murdering her son. But she will never forget, and neither should the rest of us.

During a court hearing last week, Scott looked directly at the former North Charleston police officer who fired eight shots at her fleeing, unarmed son in April 2015.

“I forgive you,” she told him, “and I pray for you that you will repent and let Jesus come into your life.”

U.S. District Judge David Norton on Thursday sentenced Slager, who is white, to 20 years in prison for the killing of Walter Scott, who was black, saying he considered Slager’s actions second-degree murder. It is a welcome dose of justice for Scott’s family and potentially an important milestone as America grapples with police shootings that often involve unarmed black males.

Walter Scott should be alive today; even Slager admits to that. But perhaps Slager’s conviction in Scott’s killing will make a police officer somewhere pause before unnecessarily pulling the trigger, or will embolden a police chief or a DA or a judge to achieve justice in another case. Perhaps it will prompt a police department or two to impose more intensive and effective training.

Slager pulled Scott over for a broken brake light. Scott, who owed child support, fled. Slager caught up to him. After a brief struggle, Scott fled again. Slager fired eight shots, striking him five times. Slager then planted his Taser next to Scott’s body.

It was a chilling example of police brutality against an unarmed African-American. Also chilling is the extreme probability that Slager would remain an officer on the streets today if a passerby hadn’t happened to film the shooting. Feidin Santana, a barber, had the presence of mind to pull out his smartphone and then the courage to share his video with authorities. He is an under-appreciated protagonist in this tragedy.

It shouldn’t take the luck of having an attentive bystander for police to be held accountable when they step over the line. To be sure, the vast majority of officers are brave men and women full of integrity, and a majority of police shootings are surely justified. But a single unjustified one is too many, and in the United States, convictions of officers for unjustified use of deadly force are exceedingly rare.

Race, or more precisely, officers’ implicit bias, clearly plays a role. The Guardian says data show black Americans are killed by police at a rate more than double that of white Americans, and ProPublica reported that black teens were 21 times as likely as white teens to be killed by police between 2010 and 2012.

Every police shooting is unique, and the specifics of the Slager-Scott case are why Slager deserves his fate. So his sentence can’t automatically be a sign of things to come in unrelated cases. Still, it is a watershed moment and can boost awareness. Let’s all hope it leads to better training and more accountability, so communities and police can achieve the mutual ultimate goal of greater trust.

This story was originally published December 9, 2017 at 8:06 AM with the headline "Can Michael Slager conviction lead to greater trust in police?."