Grand Jury Charges Officer Michael Slager with Murder of Walter Scott
A South Carolina grand jury has indicted North Charleston Police Officer Michael Slager, 33, on a murder charge in the shooting death of Walter Scott, 50, the Ninth Judicial Circuit Solicitor’s Office announced Monday morning.
The incident catapulted to national headlines in early April after a bystander’s video captured Slager firing several rounds at Scott, who was running away, killing him. The slaying provoked outrage not only for the death, but because the footage purportedly showed the officer placing his stun gun near Scott’s body — perhaps part of his claim that the pair had struggled over his stun gun, thus justifying a shooting death.
Dashcam footage was later released showing the officer pulling over Scott for a routine traffic stop, before the driver bolted from the scene, off-camera, where he was later shot and killed.
Slager was fired from the department after the incident, and is currently being held at the Charleston County Detention Center.
