A white police officer in North Charleston, South Carolina, is facing murder charges after a bystander's video showed him shooting a black man during a traffic stop, authorities announced in a news conference Tuesday.
The video shows the officer, Michael Slager, firing his gun eight times as the man, who was identified as 50-year-old Walter Scott, flees. Slager claimed in statements from his attorney that he feared for his life when he pulled Scott over for a broken brake light Saturday morning and Scott grabbed his stun gun in the midst of a tussle.
The video, however, appears to contradict that version of events. The viewer can see the taser fall before Scott takes off running. After the shots are fired, Slager appears to go back to pick something up, then drops what looks to be the taser near the man's body.
An incident report filed earlier this week said officers heard Slager say on the police radio that he had deployed his Taser. "Shots fired and the subject is down. He took my Taser," Slager said seconds later, according to the report.
L. Chris Stewart, the Scott family's attorney, told Mashable in a phone interview that the family started crying and hugging when the murder charge was announced on TV. He called the bystander who filmed the video a "hero" and said that citizen documentation of these incidents is vital for justice to be served.
"It’s a historic situation because i think it’s changed the eye that judges and the courts look at these cases with him," Stewart said. "We can’t just immediately trust the word of someone who just killed someone."
Scott had a family court warrant out for his arrest and a history of arrests related to contempt of court and failure to pay child support charges, according to the Charleston Post and Courier.
“Walter was a nice, good, honest person,” Scott’s cousin, Samuel Scott, told the paper in an article on Sunday. “He wasn’t no criminal. He wasn’t young and in the streets. He was a grown man working hard to take care of his family.”
Slager was arrested on Tuesday by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, the agency tasked with investigating the shooting. According the Post and Courier, the video, which was shot by an anonymous bystander, prompted authorities to charge Slager with murder. The footage was the first evidence to contradict with Slager's version of events.
North Charleston mayor Keith Summey said during the news conference that Slager made a “bad decision” that led to his arrest.
“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.”
Slager's former attorney, David Aylor, who resigned on Tuesday, said in a statement Monday that his client believed he had followed proper police protocol during the shooting.
“This is a very tragic event for all of the families," Aylor said. "I believe once the community hears all the facts of this shooting, they'll have a better understanding of the circumstances surrounding this investigation."
Chief Eddie Drigger said in the news conference that Tuesday was a "tragic day for many."
"I think that all of these police officers on this force, both men and women, are like my children," Driggers said. "So you tell me how a father would react to seeing his child do something like this."
"This was a cop who felt like he could just get away with shooting someone this many times in the back," Stewart said in a press conference later Tuesday evening. "It speaks to the value of human life...When people start respecting that, it won't matter what color you are."
The family intends to file a civil lawsuit, South Carolina State Representative Justin T. Bamberg, who was also present at the press conference, said.
The incident is the latest in a string of high-profile incidents of police violence in Ferguson, Missouri, Staten Island and Cleveland, Ohio in which white officers killed black males, that led to nationwide protests and a higher degree of scrutiny over police brutality and racial bias. The Justice Department, which has launched a series of civil rights investigations into the killings, will also review the incident.
The incidents and the lack of legal consequences for the officers involved sparked weeks of protests and unrest in major cities across the country. North Charleston officials have been urging calm in the wake of the killing.
North Charleston is one of South Carolina's largest cities with a population of just over 100,000 people. Around 47% of the population is African American, according to 2010 census data. The Post and Courier reported that as of last fall, only 83 of the city's more than 400 officers are non-white. According to the paper, the department has often been accused of unfairly targeting poor, black communities.
According to a local ABC News affiliate, Slager was denied bail at a bond hearing held Tuesday night.
