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A CROWD GATHERED in Summerville, South Carolina today for the funeral of Walter Scott — the black driver who was fatally shot by a North Charleston police officer after fleeing a traffic stop.
Scott’s family arrived at WORD Ministries Christian Centre in a fleet of three black limousines that were followed by several other vehicles.
Organisers placed chairs in the church’s vestibule to accommodate the overflow crowd and ushered select people inside for the service.
Many who were in line and waited through a period of rain and humidity were unable to get into the sanctuary.
“You know, Walter touched a lot of people. He was very friendly with everyone. I don’t think he ever met an enemy. So, there’s a lot of people out here, just paying their respects to him and his legacy,” said Tyrone Johnson, a Charlotte North Carolina resident who said he went to high school with Scott and one of his brothers.
A monitor with video of the funeral showed Scott’s casket on an altar draped in an American flag.
The program said Scott, 50, was a devout Christian and expressed that by singing in his church choir.
Controversial death
Police initially said Scott was shot on April 4 during a tussle over Michael Slager’s department-issued Taser.
But witness video surfaced later, showing Scott being shot eight times as he ran away. Slager was fired and charged with murder.
The incident sparked outrage as another instance of a white law enforcement officer fatally shooting an unarmed black man under questionable circumstances.
A steady stream of people gathered yesterday afternoon at a wake to pay their respects to Scott at a funeral home in downtown Charleston.
Scott’s open casket was adorned with a Dallas Cowboys sign and a miniature figure of a player.
A heart-shaped flower arrangement to the left of his casket during the wake read Beloved Father and a ribbon on the right read “St Andrews Parish High School Class of 1984.”
Some visitors expressed how bewildered they were with the circumstances that led to him lying there.
Scott was driving a 1991 Mercedes that he bought from a neighbour and was headed to an auto parts store when he was stopped, his brother Rodney Scott said. Police said he had a broken taillight.
Video from the police car’s dashboard camera shows Slager asking Scott for his license and registration, then heading back to his cruiser before Scott gets out of the car and runs.
Scott’s relatives have said they suspect he fled Slager out of fear of being jailed again over missed child support payments.
At the time he was stopped, Scott, a father of four who worked as a warehouse forklift operator, owed more than $18,000 in child support and court fees, according to Charleston County records.
He last paid child support in 2012 and a bench warrant for his arrest was issued in early 2013. Scott had been in jail three times since 2008.
“His mission was to avoid the police as much as possible,” Rodney Scott said.
Rodney Scott said his brother would take long detours while driving to their parents’ house because he thought there were more police patrolling the direct, 10-minute route from his home. He said Walter also tried to make sure any vehicle he drove had working headlights and taillights.
Those who knew him remember Scott as lighthearted and gentle. They describe a laid-back, fun-loving man who took his girlfriend dancing on weekends.
Scott had been married twice, and proposed to his girlfriend Charlotte Jones about a week before he was killed.
Co-workers said Scott always seemed calm at work and would often stop to ask others how they were doing. He loved to talk about pro football, especially his favorite Dallas Cowboys, even in the spring, when the rest of the sports world had moved on to college basketball and March Madness.
Despite struggles to keep up with child support payments, Scott’s relatives said he stayed close to his four children — a 24-year-old daughter and three sons, ages 22, 20 and 16.
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Two years ago I had an accident that involved my hand getting cut with a chainsaw (seriously don’t ask!). It all healed up well but I developed a granuloma which is just basically a bump of gooey skin that healed to fast. I needed it removed and they gave me a date for six weeks later to get it removed. In the mean time I fell up the stairs causing the lump to just rip off. I rang to cancel the appointment because I obviously no longer needed it removed. Two years later I am still getting letters giving me new appointments because I didn’t show up for my previous one. I’ve rang every time I’ve gotten a letter to explain and they are still sending me letters. I think it’s about time that they started to worry about the people that really need day procedures and stop concerning themselves with people that don’t or aren’t bothered.
What happened?
Holding a stick and it hopped when my dad was sawing it and it pulled my hand under the chainsaw! I now only have three and a half fingernails on one hand! But hey I look real cool now!
Only when people need these services themselves or they see close friends and family suffering do they realize how big this problem is….to everyone else it’s just numbers. Our healthcare is nearly third world…god help anyone who needs it.
Our healthcare is world class – that’s part of the problem, illnesses that would previously have meant people would never even be considered for surgery are now just a routine part of the history.
Waiting lists are due to a great many things – a big one being the difficulty in emptying beds once people are well. Funding has long since disappeared for things like step down or convalescence placements, so patients end up stuck in beds that could be used to reduce waiting lists.
“Nearly third world”????? If you had ever seen a third world health system you would realise that, no matter what problems our system has, there is a VAST spectrum of quality between Ireland and the Third World.
Idiot.
I think Dominic meant in comparison to what it was, or could be, the quality of our Health System has seriously gone down hill in recent times.
I was talking to a surgeon from Sudan a few weeks ago, he told me how he and a few colleagues wanted to kit out an entire operating theatre in the Sudan with all the equipment needed to run it, from monitors to lights and operating tables. If he bought them here he’d have to buy from a prescribed list of approved manufacturers and that would cost anywhere from 300k to 500k, far beyond their budget. He asked an engineer what he should do and was told to look elsewhere, he did. He got everything he needed for less than 30k, delivered, brand new, with guarantees and support. He and his colleagues are over the moon, they can now offer a state of the art service for free, as their clients have no money to pay – in the Third World.
This is where we are going wrong. We, in the so called First World believe we have to have the equipment that carries the recognized brand names, it has to come from “approved lists” and not common sense. It should be a case of can it do the same job, is it half the price, or even better a quarter the price. If a surgeon can kit out an entire theatre for 1/10 the price it costs here then surely we’re doing something wrong.
Jed I this is true, My husband lost hip due to infection in hospital, with only one hip he could not walk, I had to fight for almost a year with HSE for motor wheelchair, I was told it would be impossible as the ones they did have cost more than 8k, I went to a place that had the type of wheelchair my husband needed, the owner said he had his name registered with HSE and his Wchairs cost 1k. I wrote a letter to HSE asking why they used a dealer who was charging 8k, when they had another dealer with almost the same type of Wchair for 1k. The nurse who helped my husband at home read it and said she would like to take letter and show it to a few in HSE. Within 6 weeks my husband had his Wchair and guess who supplied it, the dealer at 1k. I asked then who was the dealer charging 8k, of course I got no reply this was 2 yrs ago. I can verify this at any time. The special bed my husband was given is actually rented from another company, seems a lot of these beds have been rented yearly by HSE along with a lot of other equipment for a very long time. Should I push my luck and ask how much they are paying for the bed/beds, also who these dealers/companies might be. I think people have a right to know where the millions are going.
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Good friend of mine is waiting a year for a triple by-pass with no sign of him getting it!! Absolute disgrace!!
Time to strike a deal with private hospitals.
Ironically enough, i bet they can do a lot of procedures cheaper.
Don’t know if appointments to see consultants count under this…but been waiting over 12 months to see a pain specialist now!
There is a waiting list to see consultants. There is a whole series of layers before you even get in a list to get treated.
Another fail by Reilly.
My brother has been waiting for hospital
Appointment for a few months now, not terribly urgent but still needs treatment. Got appointment yesterday for, wait for it…….June 14. Rang hospital to see if it’s a mistake but no.
I have been waiting for a routine scan for 4 yrs and the hospital called me 3 weeks ago to find out if I wanted to stay on the waiting list …… My response to that person was ” well I’ve been waiting 4 yrs sure what’s another 4 ” one does not know what the other is doing in the HSE system . We are all just a number …
Does having private health insurance makes any difference?
have your say