South Carolina Police Officer Charged With Murder In Man’s Death

A South Carolina officer has been charged with murder after a shocking video shows the officer shooting the victim as he was running away.

South Carolina officer kills man

North Charleston officer Michael T. Slager, 33, was charged with murder on Tuesday, for shooting the man in the back while he was running away. Officer Slager said he feared for his life because the man took his stun gun in a scuffle after a traffic stop on Saturday. A video, however, shows the officer firing eight times as the man fled. The North Charleston mayor announced the state charges at a news conference Tuesday evening.

The shooting happened after Officer Slager stopped a Mercedes-Benz with a broken taillight, according to police reports. The driver, Walter L. Scott, 50, ran away, and Officer Slager chased him into a grassy lot that abuts a muffler shop. He fired his Taser, an electronic stun gun, but it did not stop Mr. Scott, according to police reports.

Moments after the struggle, Officer Slager reported on his radio, “Shots fired and the subject is down. He took my Taser,” according to police reports.

But the video, that was recorded by a bystander, details a different account of what happened. The video begins in a vacant lot. You can see wires, which carry the electrical current from the stun gun, appear to be extending from Mr. Scott’s body as the two men tussle and Mr. Scott turns to run. This is when Officer Slager fires his weapon eight times and Scott falls to the ground.

The shooting is being investigated by The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. The F.B.I. and the Justice Department, which has opened a string of civil rights investigations into police departments under Mr. Holder, is also investigating the shooting.