COUGH IT UP, CHOPPERS …
|| By FITSNEWS || Media outlets hoping to run the amateur video of a white North Charleston police officer shooting an unarmed black man eight times in the back must now pay up … to the tune of $10,000.
According to The New York Times, an Australia-based company sent cease-and-desist letters to news outlets on behalf of 23-year-old Feidin Santana – who filmed the fatal shooting of 50-year-old Walter Scott by 33-year-old officer Michael Slager earlier this month.
Fearful of the graphic images he captured on his cell phone, Santana originally contemplated deleting the clip. He eventually released the video to Scott’s family – who in turn provided it to the press.
Prior to the release of the video, North Charleston police claimed Scott was gunned down by Slager because he posed a legitimate threat to the officer’s safety – having engaged in a scuffle with Slager which resulting in him obtaining the officer’s taser weapon. Police also said Scott was fatally shot following a “foot pursuit” and that officers attempted cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in an attempt to revive him.
While the video depicted what appears to have been a minor scuffle, the rest of the police narrative turned out to be highly suspect – if not completely fabricated.
There was no “foot pursuit” – nor does it appear as though Scott ever had complete possession of Slager’s taser.
Nor were any attempts made to revive Scott – who died of multiple gunshot wounds to the back after Slager fired eight rounds at him as he fled.
Now Santana is claiming the video as his property – and insisting he be paid $10,000 from each outlet which wants to run the video.
His attorney, S.C. Rep. Todd Rutherford, argues Santana deserves a cut from all the money his clip has made for media outlets.
“Y’all are driving traffic to your sites using that video – what’s he supposed to do?” Rutherford told FITS.
Rutherford said Santana does not own a car and has to borrow rides from friends.
“You tell me what’s fair?” Rutherford said.
True … hard to argue that point.
In fact we made pretty much the same argument in arguing for the privatization of higher education (notably the end of the NCAA’s glorified slave trade).
Anyway, Slager remains held without bail – facing a first degree murder charge in Scott’s shooting. An investigation by the S.C. State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) into the incident is ongoing.
47 comments
It was posted to YouTube, was it not? If he had posted it himself maybe YouTube would’ve inquired about making him a YT partner and he could have cashed in that way. Either way it is on the internet now, good luck getting paid, it will not come down.
I’m sure he will paid by the peace of mind in the fact he did the right thing…
Money will not matter, I’m sure…
What the hell have you done with the real Grand Tango?
SWOOSH!!!!!
BABA BOOEY!!!!!
BAZINGA!!!
Ok, I finally got the story on this. One of GT’s creditors found him passed out by his dog pens under the pine trees. He loaded him into a wheelbarrow and rolled him down the ramp to the basement. He then saw that GT had opened a “reply”, and out of curiosity read the article, and then posted the above. That’s all that happened…
He said something real…I’m shocked.
Good luck trying to get someone to pay for a video millions have already seen, and which the filmer originally handed out for free. Nice try.
It’s in the public domain. Too late now.
No chance at all at getting a single dime. Rutherford is as dumb as dumb can be! Media is free to run the video all they want now. Typical stupid black lawyer.
Shoulda known Cockroach Todd “Pebble in my shoe” Rutherford was behind this.
“borrow rides from friends”??? What kind of grammar is that??? HAHAHAHAHAHA.
Yesterday, Fits did an article about an indictment of one former employee among 400 of the U.S. Export-Import Bank. He left his job in 2013. The indictment had nothing to do with Boeing. The accused allegedly accepted brides from a Florida based company. That company was not mentioned. The name of the bank was used once. The name of the person indicted was used three times. Boeing’s name was used six times, including the banner photo and headline.
Today, the biggest story in SC is Boeing’s and Haley’s crushing defeat of the IAM in a forfeit. The IAM, which Fits has said was on the rise, has shown its total ineptitude in both its fraudulent attempt at Delta Airlines and at Boeing.
The story broke six hours ago. Fits has nothing to say. I wonder why?
crushing defeat? Is the IAM out of business? I’m no fan of the unions, but if you look at what is going on with VW in Chattanooga and combine that with the fact that Boeing is having to import tons of skilled labor from out of state, it is only a question of when for the IAM.
BT doesn’t understand that Unions frequently adopt this tactic of calling an election to get the lay of the land,smoke out their opponents among the workforce, then call for a new vote when they feel they have a better chance.
Fine. They smoked them out and got stung.
I see again there is no comment on Will Folk’s hypocritical reporting. Ex – Im bank story that had nothing to do with Boeing an nothing about IAM decision today.
“Unfair. Unbalanced.”
Why do you berate da bwah so for simply being what he clearly advertises he’s all about, right up front under the name of his site?”
“Why do you berate da bwah so for simply being what he clearly advertises he’s all about…”
I like being where I’m not welcome. That’s my advertisement.
I think you are welcome BT, otherwise, we’d all ignore you and FITS would block you.
Most of us thrive on “contrarian” opinions, it makes us think. If we all thought alike, how much fun would that be?
remind me what da bwah mean? LOL
“The boy”, in the dialect of Richard Prior’s old toothless wino character Mudbone. Probably should be spelled more like “da bwayh.”
Dang – I gotta remember that one, esp as a Prior fan!
SC Boeing is expanding from 3 to 7 planes a month. SC doesn’t have a employment history of the skills needed, but would like to see a report on the number of imported workers.
You didn’t answer my question. Why won’t FITS report this news?
“SC doesn’t have a employment history of the skills needed” and under Haley we will never see the investment in education and infrastructure to change that. Before you respond, by education I mean investment in K-12 as well as the tech schools and colleges.
Why won’t FITS report it…I guess it does not fit his narrative for today. Perhaps he did not feel it rose to the level of clickbait.
I don’t know of any reliable numbers of imported workers. It’s all speculation. I imagine Boeing is bringing experience not skills.
The story, yesterday, on the former Ex-Im employee indictment only has 14 comments. It had nothing to do with Boeing, but mentioned Boeing six times.
its almost as annoying as watching Haley in front of the cameras bragging about how “she” landed some new industry for SC, without mentioning she gave away millions in taxpayer money to the industry.
Almost, but not quite.
It is likely that Boeing is bringing and recruiting experience, wherever they can find it.
The video is officially public property now. Under well established case law, Santana relinquished all rights to the same when he forfeited said rights to the family of Scott. The family did not enter into any kind of contract (oral or written) with Santana. Besides, its now a matter of public record, and under the common law it is property of the public. Rutherford is a real idiot. Just because he passed the bar exam does not make him correct in any respect. Lawyers have been proven wrong many a times, with many losing their license to practice before the court for lying and misrepresentation of the facts and the truth. Rutherford’s cease and desist letters are a joke and have no merit what so ever. Simple put, they are frivolous.
I believe you are correct.
Disqus is screwing up and would not let me comment to you and Syn on “Nikki comments..” I was heading for slumberland when I started reading you two batting the birdie back and forth across the net —- I laffed my head off!
Two old friends with severely advanced cases of “Posting OCD” happily reconnect on a free-wheeling political blog site comment thread, some time after an unfortunate misunderstanding had caused an uncomfortable estrangement between them, and take up an inordinate amount of bandwidth trying to figure out how to take the convo elsewhere.
Film at 11.
It was entertaining in the extreme to read — HERMAN! (heh! heh! heh!)
Glad we entertained you! :)
Likewise.
Hey speak for yourself on advanced, I am only borderline….LOL
HAH!!!!!
It takes a truly odd fellow to follow something like that, man. That would be you. ;)
And this is why ol’ scarhead Rutherford is known as a scum bucket lawyer.
Quit saying that the officer fabricated the events of the story. Anybody who is saying that is lying because Slager’s incident report has not, I repeat, has not been released. That was nothing more than a Benjamin Crump/Daryl Parks/Ryan Julison fabrication designed to ensure just the right narrative was pushed in this case. That narrative is the same reason murder charges and only murder charges (not manslaughter or even involuntary manslaughter) were put on the table so quickly: to appease a potential mob. Now that we have more facts and more context, there is simply no way a jury can convict Slager of murder.
Shorter Rutherford: “I gotta get paid somehow.”
Quit shilling for your boy Tyler Jones (Rutherford’s boss), Will. We’ve seen it before when he ran a liberal campaign against Rep. Stephen Goldfinch. I know you must make a living but stick to pimping school choice.
No such thing as “first-degree murder” in SC. It’s just murder.
So if a rich guy had tapes this – oh well, but because this guy is poor Rutherford agues he’s entitled to money. And FITS(ocialist?) Says “hard to argue with that.” Whoa, shed a tear for society my friends. Legally and morally he’s entitled to nothing.
Media earn big big bucks. Let them pay. The video remains property of the filmer.
Todd RutherFRAUD…..A thug with a law degree.