Cop in motorist shooting video gets new lawyer after previous counsel quits
A prominent South Carolina criminal defense lawyer is now representing a fired North Charleston police officer in a high-profile murder case.
The shooting of black motorist, Walter Scott, 50, as he ran away from a uniformed white officer identified as Michael Slager, 33, made international headlines due to a bystander’s video of the fatal confrontation. News reports say Slager apparently fired his Taser at Scott but didn’t incapacitate him. Scott, who had no gun, ran from the scene. Slager had reportedly pulled Scott over for having a missing tail light.
Attorney Andy Savage, who replaced David Aylor as defense counsel for Slager, “is a very good lawyer, but he’s got his work cut out for him,” professor Miller Shealy Jr. of Charleston School of Law told the Post and Courier. Shealy called the video “horrific.”
Savage declined to comment specifically on the case, telling the newspaper that he is still investigating and doesn’t intend to make the same mistake as Slager’s former counsel:
“I suspect it will take some time,” Savage told the newspaper, referring to the investigation. “As we focus in on the facts, we will probably have more to say, but it is far too early for us to be saying what we think. Slager’s previous counsel fell into that trap and we have no intention of doing our client further harm.”
Aylor originally released a statement, before the video came to light, saying, “I believe once the community hears all the facts of this shooting, they’ll have a better understanding of the circumstances surrounding this investigation.”
After the video became public, Aylor distanced himself from that statement. In a question-and-answer format interview with the Daily Beast that was “lightly edited for clarity,” he suggested that the video put the case in a new light for him:
“I can’t comment on the specifics of what I think the video says. I’m not going to analyze the video, but … the video came out and within the hours of the video coming out, I withdrew my representation of the client,” Aylor states.
Related coverage:
Bloomberg (opinion): “N. Charleston officer deserves a better defense lawyer”
Simple Justice (opinion): “David Aylor, The Other Shooter”
See also:
ABC News: “Walter Scott SC Shooting Draws New Scrutiny to Michael Slager’s Record”
Associated Press: “Michael Slager: Another excessive force complaint against black man in 2013”
CNN: “South Carolina shooting: Officer charged and fired; protesters demand justice”
Updated on April 10 to correct one misspelling of David Aylor’s name.
