The world learned his name after he was killed by a South Carolina police officer.
But in his life, 50-year-old Walter Scott was also the father of four children and served in the Coast Guard, his brother said.
“He was outgoing — loved everybody, (was) very known in the community and got along with everybody,” brother Anthony Scott told CNN’s Don Lemon. “All the family loves him, and his kids loved him.”
It’s unclear why Walter Scott decided to run away from Officer Michael Slager after a traffic stop Saturday morning. Anthony Scott said his brother had had trouble with child support, but that he wasn’t prone to violence.
According to a police report, Scott did not comply with an officer’s demands and tried to take Slager’s stun gun.
Slager fired eight shots at Scott, striking him in the back. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Regardless of why Walter Scott ran, “running from an officer doesn’t result in the death penalty,” family attorney Chris Stewart said.
The officer has been charged with murder — a charge that might not have come about if not for a bystander’s video of the shooting.
Anthony Scott said he watched the video, which has traumatized the family.
“When I saw that video for the first time, my family was deeply hurt that someone would gun down a human being in that way,” the brother said. “We just couldn’t believe it.”
