Cop in South Carolina is indicted in shooting death of man pulled over for a broken taillight
A former police officer in North Charleston, South Carolina, has been indicted on a murder charge for the shooting death of a motorist who fled after he was pulled over for a broken taillight.
Grand jurors indicted the former officer, Michael Slager, for the death of 50-year-old Walter Scott on Monday, report the New York Times, the Washington Post and the Post and Courier. Slager is the second white South Carolina officer in the past year to be formally charged in a black man’s death, the Post and Courier says.
The state does not have different degrees of murder. Prosecutors will be required to show premeditation, even if it occurs seconds before the crime, Ninth Circuit Solicitor Scarlett Wilson said. Slager faces a possible sentence of 30 years to life in prison. Wilson has previously said that the death penalty would not be an option because there were no aggravating circumstances in the case.
Slager was fired after the April 4 shooting. He has been held on a murder charge for the death of 50-year-old Walter Scott since April 7 when a video of the shooting became public.
Slager has said he felt threatened by Scott as a result of a struggle for his Taser. Slager’s lawyer has not requested bail for his client.
Second paragraph corrected at 10:15 a.m. to say that Slager is the second white South Carolina officer in the past year to be formally charged in a black man’s death.
