New Coalition to Fight Police Brutality in South Carolina

Black Lives Matter-Charleston said that advocacy groups North Charleston, South Carolina have formed a coalition to push for police reforms to end police brutality and racial profiling.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Advocacy groups North Charleston, South Carolina have formed a coalition to push for police reforms to end police brutality and racial profiling, Black Lives Matter-Charleston said in a press release.

"The North Charleston Civil Coalition for Reform (NCCCR) [is] seeking long-lasting reform in the City of North Charleston,” the press release, issued on Tuesday, said. “The goals of these reforms are to… end racial profiling and police brutality in minority communities.”

The reforms will create an oversight commission over the city’s police department, as well as improve transparency of the North Charleston government, according to the press release.

Police racial profiling and brutality have prompted a major debate in the United States over the past year.

The issue has made headlines as numerous, sometimes violent protests have swept the country amid a string of police killings of primarily African-Americans but also others.

In April 2015, a white North Charleston police officer Michael Slager fatally shot an unarmed African American Walter Scott.

Black Lives Matter-Charleston said earlier in May that the murder of Scott became a pivotal point, galvanizing the community to seek change.