On April 4, 2015, Michael Slager, a North Charleston police officer, shot and killed Walter Scott, an unarmed African-American father, as he ran away during a routine traffic stop. The incident was caught on video by a local bystander, and further ignited existing demands for changes within the North Charleston Police Department (NCPD).
In 2015, we worked with local activists to draft and send a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) asking for a civil rights investigation of the North Charleston Police Department. Following this request, we and our North Charleston partners hosted three town hall meetings to gather evidence that would support a civil rights probe. The town halls provided a space where North Charleston residents could gather, discuss their encounters with NCPD, and contribute to broader efforts to improve policing practices in the city.
In May 2016, following mounting public pressure, North Charleston’s mayor and police commissioner invited the U.S. Justice Department’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) to conduct a collaborative assessment of NCPD’s policies and practices. The COPS Office began its investigation and TMI staff supported the process by providing investigators with relevant data.
More than a year later, the COPS Office has failed to release its assessment. In light of that delay, in June of 2017 we released our own report, It Matters if You’re Black or White: Racial Disparities in the Handling of Complaints Against North Charleston Police Officers, which provides a comprehensive review of citizen complaint reports filed with NCPD. After analyzing hundreds of pages of documents filed from 2006 through 2016, we found both that African Americans were more likely to file complaints against officers than their White counterparts, and that complaints by African Americans were sustained at a much lower rate. We also found that NCPD conducts inadequate investigations in response to citizen complaints, as complaint reports are often missing critical information and rarely note whether disciplinary action was taken against offending officers.
“Our law enforcement should be here to protect and serve the community, not cause fear, mistrust, racial profiling, and discrimination.”
Shaundra Scott, Executive Director of the ACLU of South Carolina.
In addition to releasing the report, we and our North Charleston partners sent a letter to the COPS Office urging the agency to complete and release its comprehensive and independent assessment of NCPD’s policies and practices that it began in May of 2016.
On September 21, 2017, TMI and our North Charleston partners organized and hosted a community action meeting. Over 80 North Charleston residents attended the meeting, during which they called their members of Congress to demand release of the COPS Office assessment. Participants also strategized and shared ideas for policing reforms during the meeting.
