Mistrial declared in case of South Carolina officer who shot Walter Scott after traffic stop
Slager, who said he feared for his life during the encounter, was charged remarkably quickly amid a shifting climate sparked by protests in Ferguson, Mo., just months before Scott’s death.
Over the police radio, Slager can be heard calling in a description of Scott before yelling, “Taser, Taser, Taser!”
Speaking on the witness stand, Slager was asked by a prosecutor whether he agreed that Scott was unarmed and running away.
In the footage that captured Scott’s death, Slager could be seen placing an item — his Taser — near Scott’s body after the shooting
Gov. Nikki Haley, in a statement, said she expects a new trial in the case. “It is my understanding that there will be, as quickly as possible, a new trial where the Scott family and all of South Carolina will hopefully receive the closure that a verdict brings. Justice is not always immediate, but we must all have faith that it will be served. I certainly do,” she said.
Scott and DuBose were among 991 people fatally shot by police last year, according to a Washington Post database tracking such deaths. Shootings by police were up at the midway point of this year; police are on pace to fatally shoot about the same number of people this year as last year.
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