What if we had no video of the police shooting?

The video of the shooting of an unarmed, fleeing, black man in North Charleston, SC was compelling enough evidence to charge the officer with murder.  But what if there had been no witness who filmed the episode -- and had the courage to come forward with it?

The police officer would have probably been absolved of wrongful death accusations, based on his own report of the incident.    His first radio message was:   "Shots fired and the subject is down.   He took my Taser."   The video shows that to be false.   The officer put the Taser beside the body after he was already dead.

How often does this happen when there is no video or witness to contradict the authority of the police officers?

Yet, even with video evidence, the officer who shot the 12 year old boy in a Cleveland park was not indicted.  

Admittedly the police do a job that often puts them in danger and often results in officer-deaths.   But there has to be a better solution than just becoming so trigger-happy that innocent people and those stopped for minor offenses wind up being killed.

Perhaps it might be instructive to consult the English police system.   What would they do in similar circumstances?   They certainly don't wind up shooting so many people.

Or, are we reduced to the immortal words of Gov. Lester Maddox who, when asked about the deplorable conditions in Georgia prisons, replied:   "The problem with the prisons is that we need a better class of prisoners."    

We must recognize that sometimes it is the police who are in the wrong:  sometimes they are the ones who turn suspects into victims.   To the credit of the North Charleston police department and the South Carolina governor, when presented with this clear evidence, acted quickly to charge the police officer with murder.

Ralph