Walter Scott’s Family Holds Funeral For South Carolina Man Killed By Police Officer

SUMMERVILLE, S.C., April 11 (Reuters) – Hundreds of mourners gathered on Saturday morning at a South Carolina chapel to remember Walter Scott, an African-American father of four who was shot in the back last week while running from a white patrolman.

Scott’s death, caught on a bystander’s video, has reignited a public outcry over police treatment of African-Americans. Michael Slager, the North Charleston officer who fired eight times at the man’s back as he fled from a traffic stop, has been charged with murder.

Under cloudy skies, an early crowd stood under the portico of W.O.R.D. Ministries Christian Center in Summerville behind police tape that separated them from television cameras and media tents. The service, scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. EDT (1500 GMT), will be open to the public.

“This is a sad day,” said Rev. James Johnson, a minister who is president of the local chapter of civil rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network.

“God has got a reason for what has happened,” he told Reuters. “Hopefully this will heal the world.”

Scott’s family is expected to be escorted to the funeral by North Charleston police. The family changed its mind on allowing media to attend after a newspaper reported that the family wanted Sharpton to stay away, Johnson said.

Sharpton was always welcome, though the family had not scheduled him as a speaker, he said.

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