“ parents to pay child support , a
i just closed myself into a little shell and started “ every job he has had , he has gotten fired from because he went to jail because he was locked up for child support , ” said mr. scott , whose brother was working as a forklift operator when he died .
chuck burton ap anthony scott holds a photo of himself ( center ) and his brothers walter ( left ) and rodney this week at his north charleston home .
scott already knew how the system worked — he owed support for two children , and then two more — but he claimed at the time that the department of social services sent some of his money to the wrong mother .
walter scott was killed by a police officer after a traffic stop last week .
“ i got mad at everybody in the whole world because i just lost the best job i ever had , ” scott told the post and courier in 2003 .
when parents fall short , the authorities escalate collection efforts , withholding up to 65 percent of a paycheck , seizing bank deposits and tax refunds , suspending driver ’s licenses and professional licenses , and then imposing jail is considered an effective incentive for people who are able but unwilling to pay , many critics assert that punitive policies are trapping poor men in a cycle of debt , unemployment and imprisonment .
some 15 years ago , long before walter scott 's death by a north charleston police officer made national headlines , a family court judge threw him in jail for 15 days because he had n't made his child support payments .
the officer , michael slager , is charged with murder .