Ex-cop jailed 20 years for killing unarmed man
White officer guilty of violating Black man’s civil rights in South Carolina
CHARLESTON, S.C.— A white former South Carolina officer was sentenced to 20 years in prison on 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 50-year-old Walter Scott in selfdefence 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” towards minorities.
Still, Slager pleaded guilty in federal court to violating Scott’s civil rights.
As part of the plea agreement 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 Black Americans.
Slager fired at Scott’s back from five metres away. Five of eight bullets hit him.
The video was seized on by many as vivid proof of what they had been arguing for years: that white officers too often use deadly force unnecessarily against Black people.
When the jury failed to reach a verdict in the state murder case, many people were shocked and distressed, because the video seemed to some to be an open-and-shut case. Some despaired of ever seeing justice.
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.
Before the sentence was handed down, the judge had to decide whether the shooting amounted to second-degree murder or manslaughter. Norton found that it was murder. He also found that Slager obstructed justice when he made statements to state police after the shooting.