The New York Times, April 8, 2015
A white South Carolina police officer has been charged with murder after shooting dead an apparently unarmed black man who was running away from him.
The incident happened after a routine traffic stop Saturday in North Charleston and was filmed by a witness. The video, published by The New York Times, shows police officer Michael Slager shoot victim Walter Lamer Scott, 50, at least eight times before he falls to the ground.
According to police reports, officer Slager, 33, stopped a car with a broken taillight before the driver ran away. The police officer chased him into a lot before firing his taser, but it did not stop the man. Moments later, officer Slager reported on his radio that shots were fired and the subject was down after he had taken his stun gun.
But the video footage shows the police officer using his stun gun on the subject before the two men scuffle. An object, which may be the stun gun, falls to the ground. The officer is then seen pulling out his gun and the subject fleeing. Officer Slager fires eight shots in the back of the man, who falls to the ground. The police officer then runs back to where the object fell, picks it up and drops it near the man’s body.
“When you’re wrong, you’re wrong,” North Charleston’s Mayor Keith Summey said during a news conference Tuesday evening. “And if you make a bad decision, don’t care if you’re behind the shield or just a citizen on the street, you have to live by that decision,” he added.
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