NAACP to DOJ: Investigate 20 years of police-involved shootings in Charleston area

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) -- Nearly two weeks after Walter Scott was shot and killed by a North Charleston police officer, the city's branch of the NAACP called on the Department of Justice to investigate police-involved shootings in the Charleston metro over the last 20 years.

During a pair of press conferences from City Hall on Friday, members of the North Charleston chapter of the NAACP, the National Action Network, and the Coalition said they were outraged "but not surprised by the attempted cover-up of the murder of Walter Scott."

Officials, a few of whom were wearing shirts with the message "Do you believe us now?", said the truth of the events of April 4 were only revealed after an eyewitness released a video showing the incident between Scott and North Charleston police officer Michael Slager.

Officials said the change in narrative from Saturday, April 4, to the following Tuesday was an indication to them that the long-standing belief in the black community that police tamper with evidence, file false reports, and launch cover-up campaigns was based in truth.

As such, they were calling on the Department of Justice to launch an investigation into two decades of police-involved shootings in North Charleston and Charleston County. It's an attempt to tear down the so-called "blue wall of silence," the group said.

The group pointed to a history of what black men dying at the hands of police, but all of the shootings never resulted in convictions. Citing the cases of Scott, Denzel Curnell, Asbury Wilder, Derryl Drayton, Eddie Drayton, Tyrone Burton, Kenneth Coaxum, Roscoe Little, Leon Walters, and CJ Pringle among others, the group said there was a clear need for the Department of Justice to investigate the departments and will help to bridge the divide between law enforcement and the communities they serve.

The group said the request had already been sent to Washington and they felt confident the federal agents would launch an investigations. The group is also bringing in an outside investigation firm to look into the city and the county.

The call for a federal investigation comes at the lack of trust in local police and the State Law Enforcement Division.

"We can't trust the reactions of the law enforcement that we encounter," said one officials. "We have been saying this for years. I'm 62 and I've known this since I was a kid."

But with the release of the video, the hope is that the world will now believe the allegations of profiling and excessive force levied against police by the black community.

Leaders said they have been protesting the inaction of North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey for years, but nothing came of it. Now they hope a Department of Justice investigation will uncover alleged civil rights violations and Summey will be held accountable.

However, in the second press conference that served as a precursor to a pair of sales pitches and demonstrations from two competing body camera companies, Rev. Jesse Jackson praised Summey and North Charleston Police Chief Eddie Driggers for the fast action and condemning of Slager's actions.

Jackson said the death of Walter Scott shook the world. He called it a game changer and a wake-up call. He again made a push for body cameras, echoing his message of a night earlier.

"The camera must not be seen as a threat; it must be seen as an asset because it shows what good policing does, it shows what bad policing does," Jackson said.

State Sen. Marlon Kimpson said two bills are working their ways through the state's House and Senate. Kimpson said he hoped to have the Senate bill debated on the floor by Thursday so that it can be sent on to the House and hopefully the governor's desk.

The bill has strong bipartisan support.

After that, state Rep. Wendell Gilliard introduced representatives from two body camera manufacturers.

Taser International and Klear Capture were given a large audience at City Hall to promote their products and explain the differences in services. Along with lawmakers and members of the civil rights community, several sheriffs and police chiefs also filled out the auditorium to hear the pitches and ask questions.

Taser International offers a camera mounted to glasses in addition to one that mounts to an officer's shirt or pants.

"It is a point-of-view camera that camera is designed to capture the perspective of the officer as his eye sees it," said representative Jonathan Wrenn.

One of the complaints of body camera systems is an officer's ability to turn it off at will. Klear Kapture president Bob Gruder said his system solves that problem with a camera that starts recording when it turns on.

It records for an hour and then overwrites it unless an officer sets an event to keep the recording. Gruder said the system makes it easier for officers by not asking them to start recording during a hectic event, but store an already recorded video once it has happened.

Taser stores the videos in a cloud-based system while Klear Kapture uses servers stored at the local department.

How departments stand with body cameras:

Mount Pleasant Police Department officials say several body cameras are deployed with K-9 Unit and bicycle patrol units. The department has budgeted for 25 VIEVU LE3 body cameras, which is expected to cost $22,500. An additional 90 cameras would cover all of our police officers that actively deal with the public. The cost of the 90 extra cameras would total $78,999.

In Hanahan, officials are waiting for the state law to pass to see how funding will be handled. The city purchased an in-car camera system two years ago for $150,000, something that was state-mandated but not funded.

"As a small city, we have limited financial resources - we just do not have a budget to spend $50,000{}or so without the state funding them. I look forward to having them deployed as our officers do excellent work and I truly believe that having them will help make society a better place," said Mike Cochran.

Summerville Police Department has 78 cameras on order, some of which have arrived. However, it's unclear when the rest of the cameras will arrive.

At Charleston's city police department, one of the largest agencies in the area, the department will have 140 cameras within the first week of May, department spokesman Charles Francis said.

In Georgetown, officials say they welcome the use of more technology in policing because it will increase trust. The Georgetown County Sheriff's Office has been testing body cameras since the incident in Ferguson, Missouri, and ordered 25 cameras that will be available on May 1.

"Cost should not be an issue if the citizens that we serve feel that they will be better served with such devices. Yes, there will be costs associated with the implementation of the body cameras at approximately $300 per unit. The servers needed to store the data retrieved is going to cost approximately $22,000. The server will allow the GCSO to house the data for a prescribed amount of time and allow us to meet both judicial and administrative needs that arise," officials said in a statement.

In Goose Creek, officials said the department does not currently have any body cameras and there is no funding to add them to patrol units. However, officials said they are following the developments in the state Legislature.