Michael Slager (Photo : Reuters)
A city patrolman was charged with murder on Tuesday by police officials of South Carolina as he was involved in the shooting of a black man.
According to Fox News, the officer was identified as City Patrolman Michael Thomas Slager and he killed a motorist that was identified as Walter Scott, 50. A video showing Slager shooting Walter during the said encounter was surrendered to the police officials by a motorist who saw the incident.
The video was reportedly given by an anonymous person who recorded the confrontation between the city patrolman and the black man. The FBI is working closely with the United States Justice Department specifically the Civil Rights Division as per report of the The Christian Science Monitor regarding the case. Scott was reportedly pulled over by Slager because he was being asked to fix his broken taillight. Scott then ran away from Slager and that's when he was first hit with a stun gun before he was shot with a real gun.
North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey said in a press conference that Slager's decision to shoot him was not right he will not be exempted from the law. He added that he does not care if one has protection because one has to live with the decisions they make.
The attorney of David Aylor said in a statement that the officer felt like his life was in danger because the black man tried to grab the stun gun of the police officer. It was also reported that the arrest of Slager was also linked to the different arrests of court charges for failing to comply with the required child support asked of him.
The incident comes months after the Ferguson shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown sparked controversy worldwide and protests were started both locally and internationally. Brown was unarmed when he was shot dead by a police officer named Darren Wilson who was not indicted or charged regarding the incident.
