NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. — After Saturday's funeral for Walter Scott, Monique Green tried to gather her old classmates outside the church for a photograph. When she finally corralled all of the members of the Class of 1984 from St. Andrew's Parish High School, they smiled and mugged for the camera as they did more than 30 years ago.
In the background, Tramaine Hawkins’ “Goin’ Up Yonder” played in the church as hundreds of people filed by the casket of their classmate, Walter Scott.
“It was a tragedy, but with everything, there is a lesson to be learned,” Green said. “God has a purpose for all of us.”
Hundreds of mourners — many of whom could not fit into the tiny church — gathered in the rain to say their goodbyes to Walter Scott, the forklift driver who was killed a week ago by a North Charleston police officer.
“He was a sweet guy,” said classmate Demette Jenkins. “That is what I want folks to remember about him. That is the guy we loved.”
For Leroy Simmons, who waited outside with his family, just being there was all that mattered. Simmons and Scott were loyal Dallas Cowboys fans. When Simmons went to the Thanksgiving Day game, he brought Scott a towel back.
That towel, he said, is in Scott’s casket.
“This hurts, but I am just glad that people get to see who the real person is,” Simmons said. “He lived and will be missed.”
Scott, 50, was shot and killed last Saturday by North Charleston Police Office Michael Slager after what appeared to be a routine traffic stop. A video appears to show Slager shot Scott five times in the back. Slager, who was fired, arrested and charged with murder, remains in custody.
The incident has sparked protests throughout the community and renewed national debate over the black community’s strained relationship with police after similar deaths in Ferguson, Mo., and Staten Island.
Following the family’s orders, the two-hour funeral was refined and low-key, with limited media access.
Anthony Scott, a brother of Walter Scott, said the family wanted to keep the focus on their brother, not larger issues of race.
“This pain hurts the family,” he said during the service. “But it would hurt any color family.”
Neither North Charleston’s mayor, Keith Summey, nor its police chief, Eddie Driggers, attended Saturday’s funeral, to avoid creating a distraction.
Among those attending were U.S. Sen. Tim Scott and U.S. Rep. and former Gov. Mark Sanford, both Republicans and U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, a Democrat.
“I thought it was important that I be here,” said Clyburn, adding that the Scott family resides in his district. “It is important for the family to know that they are in our thoughts and prayers and that I will act on those thoughts and prayers.”
One of the mysteries surrounding Scott’s shooting is why did he run after he was stopped by Slager. Attorneys for the family have acknowledged that he likely ran because he had an outstanding warrant for back child support payments.
Clyburn said putting people in jail for child support payments — particularly those who are working — sets a bad precedent.
“We need to take a look at how to deal with that issue without causing unemployment and a lack of freedom,” Clyburn said.
Summey told the Post and Courier newspaper that he wanted to give Scott’s family “the utmost respect and the respect that the gentleman who is deceased deserves,” adding that he will attend a memorial church service Sunday in North Charleston where Rev. Al Sharpton is expected to speak.
On Saturday, Scott’s hearse was escorted by North Charleston officers on motorcycles.
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