NEW YORK – The Rev. Al Sharpton says his civil rights organization stands with the family of the black South Carolina man fatally shot by a white police officer.
Sharpton addressed the killing of Walter Scott at the beginning of his annual National Action Network conference in New York City on Wednesday.
North Charleston Patrolman Michael Thomas Slager has been fired, and is charged with murder.
Video taken by a bystander and released to the media shows the officer firing at the unarmed man as he flees after a traffic stop. Scott is then seen falling after the eighth shot.
Mayor Bill de Blasio attended the conference and called the video "disturbing" and "painful."
Sharpton praised the police and mayor of North Charleston "for doing the right thing" in charging the officer.
The hottest stories ripped from the headlines, from crime to courts, legal and scandal.
