This shady publicist is trying to charge media organizations $10,000 to post the Walter Scott video

(Image credit: (AP Photo/Chuck Burton))

last updated 17 April 2015

It was quite literally a shot heard 'round the world. And now a publicity company is saying media organizations cannot post the video of Walter Scott's killing without paying a $10,000 fee, according to The New York Times. The video was shot by Feidin Santana, who apparently is unaware that Markson Sparks, based in Australia, is sending cease-and-desist letters to news outlets.

The announcement about the fee seemed to come as a surprise to Mr. Santana.He later recalled that his lawyer mentioned something about charging for it, but said he did not understand.The lawyer, Todd Rutherford, said it was only fair for Mr. Santana to start getting paid for something that news outlets benefited from. [The New York Times]

The video was widely credited with debunking police officer Michael Slager's claims that he shot Scott because he feared for his life.