Feidin Santana, the 23-year-old Dominican immigrant who recorded South Carolina police officer Michael Slager fatally shooting Walter Scott, met with Scott’s family on Thursday.
Santana, who showed the footage of the incident to Scott’s family first before it was widely released and Slager was charged with murder, was embraced by the entire family and hailed as a hero in an emotional moment caught on video by Nightly News.
“I don’t know how this would’ve turned out without the video,” a family member told Santana in the NBC video. “I just want to thank you.”
Santana was touched by the kind words and warm embraces from Judy Scott, Walter’s mother, and other family members, but insisted that he was only doing the right thing.
“For myself as a person and for them as a family, I know if I had been in a situation and they were the ones who witnessed it, I’m sure they would look for justice also,” he said.
The emotional reunion comes just after Scott’s brothers were interviewed by MSNBC’s Joy Reid, during which they fondly recalled their memories of their “family man” brother.
“For the gentleman behind the camera, that’s my brother,” Scott’s brother Rodney said. “I mean he’s a definite hero, to come, stand forth and do what he did, he will never ever be forgotten.”