Discussion for article #235157
I would suggest he changes his name because from now on he will forever be a target of police officers.
“I even thought about erasing the video,” he said during an interview on MSNBC with Craig Melvin. "I felt that my life, with this information, might be in danger.”
He was right to think that. He might’ve been shot while making that video.
I’d have ran like the wind and for all intents and purposes I’m white.
I think it was on ABC.com a poster asked why Santana didn’t shout out so the officer could know he was seeing. When I read the comment I thought, what a dumb fuck. Had this young man brought attention to himself he’d most likely be dead.
I would suggest he is a smart man. He had just videoed a white cop murdering a black man. He also videoed the cop planting evidence in front of a second cop who had arrived on the scene. She backed the shooter up in her report. That accessory to murder is still walking the streets. I am sure she has motive to harm the video witness.
Slager would have most likely shot at Santana, claiming his cell phone was a gun. Slager probably had seven rounds remaining in his weapon after he shot eight rounds into Mr. Walker.
Kudos to this young man, who has reason to still fear for his life, and still did the right thing.
Perhaps one of the the reasons he expressed fear, was his experience as a former Dominican, where the police are not known for their equanimity. Of course what does this say about us?
Thank you for your courage.
Frankly, his life is still in danger. You can bet your left arm that the SC KKK has a hit out on him.
I hope he realizes what a huge deal his actions are. Without his video, the cop would be home free, the victim would have been another dead animal thug that threatened an officer’s life, and police would have been able to cover this up, no questions asked.
May Santana be safe from harm.
I know there is pressure on police officers to protect their brother officers, but if we can’t depend on our police departments to properly investigate and where appropriate punish officer wrong doing we are no better than some third world country and the police are no better than gang bangers.
That’s because his life was in danger.
So, did the cops not see him? The phone? Or would they have had to gun down a whole lot of people and were afraid they’d run out of ammo?
On the contrary, she has motive to protect the video witness since she will be the first suspect. The witness is safe because he went public.
It is only a matter of time before this happens.
Feidin Santana is a hero not just because he had the presence of mind and courage to take the video while putting his life at risk. He also had some difficult decisions to make under trying circumstances and made excellent choices. Kudos to him.
Anybody know whether is a video of suspected murderer and former police officer Michael Thomas Slager’s first press conference?
I don’t know about him being “safe.” Assuming he has no record, any run-in with the police after this will be highly suspect - IF it reaches the courts. But he still has a lot of reason to worry.
That said, a lot of other people will be safe if this leads to more widespread use of lapel cameras.
quis custodiet ipsos custodes. the concept isn’t a new one…one has to think protecting non-white people just isn’t part of the deal given the prevalence of murder as an outcome for “routine” stops.
And he would have most definitely taken the phone. He had just shot a man in the back, he wouldn’t be worried about any ramifications of illegally compensating a phone.