Update: South Carolina Police Officer Charged With Murder After Shooting Black Man In Back
North Charleston, S.C. police officer, Michael T. Slager, has been charged with murder. Slager claimed that during a traffic stop, Walter L. Scott took his stun gun and that he shot Scott in self-defense. The story would have stopped there if a video of the incident had not been recorded by an on-looker.
The video shows Scott running away as Slager fired eight shots into his back. After shooting Scott, Slager can be seen dropping an object near Scott’s body. He then radioed that he shot Scott for taking his taser.
“When you’re wrong, you’re wrong and if you make a bad decision, don’t care if you’re behind the shield or just a citizen on the street, you have to live by that decision,” Mayor Keith Summey told the press.
*Update*: The Justice Department has announced that the FBI will investigate the shooting, reports the Washington Post.
Read more at the New York Times.
Photo: New York Times/Screenshot