South Carolina town where black man shot asks U.S. for police help
(Reuters) - The South Carolina city where a white police officer shot dead an unarmed black man one year ago said on Friday it has asked the U.S. government for a review of its police force, a trust-building step that has won praise from civil rights lawyers.
North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey and Police Chief Eddie Driggers on Thursday requested aid from the U.S. Justice Department's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), a city spokesman said in an email.
The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc (LDF) and South Carolina civil rights leaders welcomed the development.
"We remain steadfast in our belief that a federal pattern or practice investigation is necessary to adequately uncover and address any policing practices that have violated the civil rights of North Charleston residents," the fund said in a statement on Friday.
North Charleston still simmers with racial tension a year later as black residents say they continue to be harassed and humiliated by law enforcement.
Patrolman Michael Slager killed motorist Walter Scott, 50, on April 4, 2015, firing eight times at his back as he fled a traffic stop for a broken tail light. A bystander captured the shooting on cell phone video.
Slager is awaiting trial on a murder charge. His lawyers have said he acted in self-defense.
North Charleston avoided the rioting that took place in other U.S. cities after police killings of black men, but African Americans complain their demands for more transparency in police practices, such as the creation of a citizen review board, have gone unheeded. Some complain of being subjected to overly aggressive policing and racial profiling.
The mission of COPS is to improve policing by state and local law enforcement by offering training, grants to hire more people, and to test policing strategies, according to its website.
Summey previously said steps had been taken to rebuild trust in the city where 47 percent of the 106,000 residents are black and about 78 percent of the police force is white, as are Summey and Driggers.
The police force is now equipped with body cameras and the department launched two new community outreach programs.
"Our efforts have uncovered some areas in which we could benefit from outside assistance," Summey and Drigger said in a letter to COPS which has been reviewed by Reuters.
The letter asks for help in improving the department's public perception, seeks help for police training, creating a citizen panel, and "more wide-ranging assistance than listed."
(Reporting by Daniel Trotta; Editing by Richard Chang)
