Cop case mistrial

A South Carolina judge yesterday declared a mistrial after a jury deadlocked in the murder trial of a white former police officer charged in the shooting death of an unarmed black motorist. A panel of one black and 11 white jurors said they were unable to reach a unanimous decision after deliberating more than 22 hours over four days. Former patrolman Michael Slager was charged with murder in the April 4, 2015, shooting death of 50-year-old Walter Scott. The judge had said the jury could also consider a lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter. Cellphone video taken by a bystander that showed Scott being shot in the back five times was shown widely in the media and on the internet and shocked the country, inflaming the national debate about how blacks are treated by law enforcement officers. After the video went public, Slager was fired by the police department and charged with murder.