--- title: Errol Morris: Documentary of a Murder description: The camera vs. the police officer’s account gives us a powerful story. canonical: https://time.com/3814586/errol-morris-walter-scott-shooting-documentary-of-a-murder/ author: Errol Morris article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-04-08T23:42:04.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:05:16.410Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Errol Morris: Documentary of a Murder og:description: The camera vs. the police officer’s account gives us a powerful story. og:url: https://time.com/3814586/errol-morris-walter-scott-shooting-documentary-of-a-murder/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2b37c640d9f60cb5/6987e49df887dc3851e8d3e0/south-carolina-police-shooting1.jpg?branch=production&width=1090&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1090 og:image:height: 613 og:image:alt: South Carolina police shooting og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Errol Morris: Documentary of a Murder twitter:description: The camera vs. the police officer’s account gives us a powerful story. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2b37c640d9f60cb5/6987e49df887dc3851e8d3e0/south-carolina-police-shooting1.jpg?branch=production&width=1090&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Errol Morris: Documentary of a Murder > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=e4e6b0e1-9912-4876-8bfe-998207cdaccc&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Know Right Now: Police Officer Faces Murder Charge in South Carolina Shooting [Watch (HLS stream): Know Right Now: Police Officer Faces Murder Charge in South Carolina Shooting](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/6IwM4oUy.m3u8) (1:10)  _Published 2015-04-08. Know Right Now: Police Officer Faces Murder Charge in South Carolina Shooting_ by [Errol Morris](https://time.com/author/errol-morris/) ## Errol Morris Apr 8, 2015 11:42 PM UTC  North Charleston police officer Michael Slager is seen allegedly shooting 50-year-old Walter Scott in the back as he runs away, in this still image from video in North Charleston, S.C. taken April 4, 2015. North Charleston police officer Michael Slager is seen allegedly shooting 50-year-old Walter Scott in the back as he runs away, in this still image from video in North Charleston, S.C. taken April 4, 2015. Reuters by [Errol Morris](https://time.com/author/errol-morris/) ## Errol Morris Apr 8, 2015 11:42 PM UTC My son called me Tuesday night to tell me about “a disgusting video.” I watched it, appalled. But what to make of it? I can report what I have seen — the cold-blooded murder of a black man. But the video is so much more. It is simultaneously a video of a murder and the cover-up of a murder. We are not just treated to eight shots being fired toward the suspect’s back, but also to the police officer’s apparent failure to offer any kind of medical assistance. So what to make of it? Photography doesn’t offer proof of anything. It merely supplies additional evidence, which otherwise might not be available. The evidence here is crucial because it is in conflict with the police officer’s own story. We wouldn’t know much without the video. And we wouldn’t have the video save for the courageous observer with a cell phone who possibly risked his life in filming the incident. Every time there is a police killing of an unarmed black man that goes unpunished, racism is rewarded. Simple as that. The camera vs. the police officer’s account gives us a powerful story. But what are we as a society going to do with it? It’s not a problem that can be magically fixed with cameras. Cameras can offer evidence, but they can’t tell us what to do with that evidence. Here, we have to decide what to do about it. North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey put it this way: “When you’re wrong, you’re wrong. And if you make a bad decision, don’t care if you’re behind the shield or just a citizen on the street, you have to live by that decision.” When you’re wrong, you’re wrong? Bad decision? No, not a bad decision. Racism and murder, and we should face up to that. ## Transcript [00:00] [ MUSIC ] [00:02] Two [00:04] point [00:06] it's [00:08] Scott, [00:10] shots [00:12] fired, [00:15] could [00:17] you get down. [ MUSIC ] [ INAUDIBLE ] [ MUSIC ] Slager [00:21] appeared in court yesterday having been arrested and [00:24] charged with murder. [ MUSIC ] [00:34] [ MUSIC ] [00:43] When you're wrong, you're wrong and [00:47] if you make a bad decision don't care if you're behind [00:51] the shield or just a citizen on the street. You have to [00:54] live by that decision. 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