White S. Carolina Police Officer Charged With Murder In Shooting Of Unarmed Black Man Caught On Camera
CHARLESTON, S.C. (CBS/AP) — A white South Carolina police officer was charged with murder Tuesday in the weekend shooting death of a black motorist after a traffic stop.
City Patrolman Michael Thomas Slager was arrested and charged after law enforcement officials saw a video of the shooting following a Saturday traffic stop, North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey told a hastily called news conference.
Authorities say the victim, 50-year-old Walter Lamer Scott of Charleston, was shot after the officer already hit him with a stun gun. A video of the shooting released to news media outlets shows the officer firing several times at the man's back while he's running away.
Summey said at a news conference that Slager made a "bad decision."
"When you're wrong, you're wrong," Summey said. "When you make a bad decision, don't care if you're behind the shield or a citizen on the street, you have to live with that decision."
Warning: Graphic Video
Slager's attorney had released a statement Monday saying the officer felt threatened and that the motorist was trying to grab the officer's stun gun. The attorney told The Post and Courier of Charleston on Tuesday that he no longer represents the officer.
North Charleston Police said Slager was arrested by officers of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.
The shooting occurred as heightened scrutiny is being placed on police officer shootings, particularly those that involve white officers and unarmed black suspects. A grand jury declined to indict Ferguson, Missouri, officer Darren Wilson in the fatal shooting of Michael Brown last August, leading to nationwide protests.
Bay Area civil rights attorney John Burris said it was clear from the video that Slager was in the wrong.
"You're not supposed to use deadly force. You're not supposed to do that. It's for the defense of others and the defense of yourself," Burris told KPIX 5.
In a separate case in South Carolina, a white police officer who shot a 68-year-old black man to death last year in his driveway was charged Tuesday with a felony: discharging a gun into an occupied vehicle. A prosecutor previously tried to indict North Augusta officer Justin Craven on a manslaughter charge in the February 2014 death of Ernest Satterwhite. But a grand jury instead chose misconduct in office, which is a far lesser charge.
Craven chased Satterwhite for 9 miles beyond city limits to the man's driveway in Edgefield County. After Satterwhite parked, the officer repeatedly fired through the driver-side door, prosecutors said. The 25-year-old officer faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted of the gun charge.
The Bay Area has seen its share of protests over police killings, including that of Oscar Grant III, shot to death by a BART police officer on New Year's Day of 2009.
The more recent "black lives matter" protest movement was prompted following the deadly of Brown, an 18-year-old black man by the white Officer Wilson following a scuffle, and generated a national debate on how quickly police use deadly force against black suspects.
TM and © Copyright 2015 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2015 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten. The Associated Press contributed to this report.