SA: South Carolina Policeman Shooting Fleeing Man
The video showing the policeman shooting the man in the back looks like straight murder.
However...we must withhold judgement until further information comes in.
Many years ago I was talking with a close friend in law enforcement. He was hitting me with hypothetical questions of "What would you do?" I was fresh out of the Army.
Soldiers and cops all know that they must work through these things in advance, so that if the situation arises they already have practiced the script that they are going to run. Often there is no chance for thought. Action: Reaction.
One hypothetical went like this:
You are the cop. Someone uses deadly force against you. He shoots at you. He runs out of ammunition, throws down the gun and runs away. You have a clear shot. What do you do?
My immediate answer was, "Shoot him."
My friend asked me to explain the reasoning.
Response: people who carry one gun often carry two guns, or a gun and a knife or some other weapon. Some people are like walking arsenals.
He might not be running away, and in any case, he just used deadly force and is a danger to others. He may be seeking a better fighting position to whip out an ankle gun. He just shot at me. The rules just changed. He already has used deadly force and my job as a cop is to apprehend, or stop him.
My friend said yes, this is justified and lawful according to their training. If someone uses deadly force and then runs away, that does not mean it is over. They may be seeking a fighting advantage, and in any case they just used deadly force and they present a lethal menace.
A big question here: Did the dead man use deadly force against the officer before he was shot in the back?