Foreman: 5 jurors undecided on verdict

Note did not mean other 11 thought Slager was guilty.

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The foreman of the jury that couldn’t reach a verdict in the murder trial of former South Carolina police Officer Michael Slager initially wanted to convict him of murder.

But Dorsey Montgomery said Thursday on NBC’s “Today” that after reviewing evidence, including cellphone video of the shooting, he thought the 35-year-old Slager, who is white, was guilty of voluntary manslaughter in the death of black motorist Walter Scott.

Jurors deliberated more than 22 hours over four days before a mistrial was declared Monday. Slager was charged with shooting Scott five times in the back as he fled a traffic stop in April 2015, an incident captured by a bystander on cellphone video that was shared online and sparked protests.

Later Thursday, Montgomery told ABC News in their final vote, 10 of the jurors indicated they wanted to convict Slager of voluntary manslaughter and two wanted to declare him not guilty.

At one point late last week, a juror wrote a note telling the judge that he couldn’t “in good conscience” convict Slager. That same day, Montgomery told the judge the jury wasn’t able to agree but thought a weekend off from deliberations would help, a request the judge granted.

But that note, Montgomery said Thursday, didn’t mean the other 11 jurors all thought the officer was guilty. In fact, he told “Today,” five of them were undecided.

“We had one individual who was just deadlocked,” said Montgomery, the sole black member of the jury. “He just had his own convictions, and I’ll leave that right there.”