Former S.C. cop gets 20 years in fatal shooting of black driver

CHARLESTON, S.C. — A white former South Carolina officer was sentenced to 20 years in prison Thursday for fatally shooting an unarmed black motorist in the back in 2015, wrapping up a case that became a rallying cry for the Black Lives Matter movement.

Attorneys for ex-North Charleston Officer Michael Slager said he shot Walter Scott, 50, in self-defense after the two fought and Scott grabbed Slager’s stun gun. They said race didn’t play a role in the shooting and Slager never had any “racial animus” toward minorities.

Still, Slager guilty in federal pleaded court to violating Scott’s civil rights.

As part of the plea agreement reached in May, prosecutors dropped state murder charges. A year ago, a state judge declared a mistrial when jurors deadlocked in that case.

“This is a tragedy that shouldn’t have happened,” U.S. District Judge David Norton said.

A bystander recorded the shooting on a cellphone, and it was shared around the world, setting off protests across the U.S. as demonstrators said it was another egregious example of police officers mistreating African-Americans.

Scott’s family testified before the sentence was handed down and said they had forgiven Slager.

“I’m not angry at you, Michael. Michael, I forgive you, and Michael, I do pray for you now and for your family, because we’ve gone through a traumatic time,” said Scott’s brother Anthony.

The shooting angered local African-Americans who complained for years that North Charleston police harassed blacks, pulling them over or questioning them unnecessarily as they cracked down on crime.

But after the shooting, the Scott family successfully pleaded for calm.