Killing of Walter Scott

Killing of Walter Scott
Video screenshot of Scott in a turquoise shirt and black pants running away to the left, many meters away, with Slager in uniform pointing his gun at Scott in the right of the screen
Screenshot from witness's video, showing Officer Michael Slager shooting Walter Scott
LocationNorth Charleston, South Carolina, U.S.
Coordinates
DateApril 4, 2015 (2015-04-04)
9:30 a.m. (EDT)
Attack type
Police killing, homicide by shooting
VictimWalter Lamar Scott, aged 50
PerpetratorMichael Thomas Slager
VerdictFederal charge:
Guilty
State charge:
Mistrial[a]
ChargesFederal charge:
Deprivation of rights under color of law resulting in death[b]
State charge:
Murder
Filmed byFeidin Santana
Sentence20 years in federal prison
LitigationWrongful death lawsuit settled for $6.5 million

On April 4, 2015, Walter Scott, a 50-year-old black man, was fatally shot by Michael Slager, a local police officer in North Charleston, South Carolina, United States. Slager had stopped Scott for a non-functioning brake light.[1][2] Slager was charged with murder after a video surfaced showing him shooting Scott from behind while Scott was fleeing, which contradicted Slager's report of the incident. The racial difference led many to believe that the shooting was racially motivated, generating a widespread controversy.[3]

The case was independently investigated by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED). The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of South Carolina, and the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division conducted their own investigations. In June 2015, a South Carolina grand jury indicted Slager on a charge of murder. He was released on bond in January 2016. In late 2016, a five-week trial ended in a mistrial due to a hung jury. In May 2016, Slager was indicted on federal charges including violation of Scott's civil rights and obstruction of justice. In a May 2017 plea agreement, Slager pleaded guilty to federal charges of civil rights violations, and he was returned to jail pending sentencing.[4][5] In return for his guilty plea, the state's murder charges were dropped.[5]

In December 2017, Slager was sentenced to 20 years in prison, with the judge determining the underlying offense was second-degree murder.[6]


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  1. ^ "Judge allows lesser charge of manslaughter in former South Carolina cop's murder trial". Chicago Tribune. November 30, 2016. Retrieved December 6, 2016.
  2. ^ "Prosecutor: Officer's shooting of unarmed man in back "flat out wrong"". CBS News. Retrieved December 6, 2016.
  3. ^ "Controversial Police Encounters Fast Facts". CNN. March 26, 2017. Retrieved April 26, 2017.
  4. ^ Blinder, Alan (May 2, 2017). "Ex-Officer Who Shot Walter Scott Pleads Guilty in Charleston". The New York Times. Retrieved December 5, 2017.
  5. ^ a b Murdock, Sebastian (May 2, 2017). "Michael Slager Pleads Guilty In Killing Of Unarmed, Fleeing Black Man Walter Scott". HuffPost. Retrieved December 5, 2017.
  6. ^ Edwards, Meridith; Andone, Dakin (December 7, 2017). "Slager gets 20 years for Walter Scott killing". CNN. Retrieved December 7, 2017.

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