Walter Scott | The Recovering Legalist

I want to keep this simple, so no fancy fonts, no pictures, and no links. All I want to do is offer my personal opinion on the recent shooting of a black man by a white police officer in North Charleston, South Carolina.

Please, take this for what it’s worth from a preacher who’s just calling it as he sees it.

First, to shoot an unarmed man in the back is cowardly. More than that, it’s murder. After thinking about this for a while, I can’t come up with any logical reason for why police Officer Michael Thomas Slager unloaded round after round into the back of an unarmed, slow-moving, easily-caught 55 year-old. There is absolutely no excuse.

Secondly, what would cause a man to get out of a car and run from police? He didn’t want a ticket? He didn’t want to pay child support? He thought that by running he wouldn’t have to go to jail when he was eventually caught? He thought running would make him look innocent? I mean, seriously?

So, what we have here is a simple case of two fools coming together and exhibiting how foolish the two can be when BOTH act like idiots – a perfect “fool” storm.

If you think it’s justifiable to shoot a man in the back when he is running away from you, you are a fool. If you think it’s smart to get out of your car and run from armed policemen, like you think you can get away, you are a fool. I make no apology for saying so.

So, may justice be served, and may the family of Walter Scott find peace. But, for the love of God, I just pray that the race-baiters won’t get a foothold in North Charleston, because this wasn’t as much about race as it was about two men making foolish decisions which ended in tragedy.

The best way to heal this situation is to admit the truth, reach out in love, and seek to learn and apply godly wisdom. Otherwise, more foolish actions will lead to more perfect storms, more shipwrecked lives, and more pain.