A police officer in North Charleston, South Carolina, was charged with murder Tuesday after a cell-phone video was released of him fatally shooting an unarmed man in the back following a traffic stop Saturday.
Michael Slager, 33, was arrested by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and faces 30 years to life in prison or the death penalty, state officials said in a news release.
In the video, which was obtained by The New York Times, Slager, who is white, shoots at the suspect — later identified as 50-year-old Walter Scott — about eight times as he runs away in a vacant lot.
The officer, who is white, said the suspect, who is black, took his Taser and that he feared for his life. The Justice Department is also reviewing the incident, which comes on the heels of other police-related shootings involving unarmed black men.
North Charleston police officer Michael Slager is seen after his arrest April 7 for the murder of Walter Scott, an unarmed man whom he had pulled over.
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SOCIAL
Warning: Video below could be disturbing to some viewers
— Erik Ortiz
First published April 7 2015, 3:40 PM
Source: Top Stories - Google News - http://ift.tt/1Fj2UBv
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