This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/02/us/michael-slager-walter-scott-north-charleston-shooting.html

The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Officer Who Shot Walter Scott to Plead Guilty in Charleston Officer Who Shot Walter Scott to Plead Guilty in Charleston
(about 2 hours later)
CHARLESTON, S.C. — The former South Carolina police officer who was recorded on video when he opened fire on a fleeing black motorist, killing him, in 2015 will plead guilty on Tuesday, people familiar with the case said. CHARLESTON, S.C. — A former South Carolina police officer who killed an unarmed black motorist in an encounter that was captured on video will plead guilty in federal court on Tuesday, people involved in the case said.
Michael T. Slager, who was a North Charleston police officer when he shot and killed the motorist, Walter L. Scott, will enter his plea in Federal District Court in Charleston. Four people familiar with the case confirmed the existence of an agreement. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because the deal has not been announced formally. A lawyer for Mr. Slager, Andrew J. Savage III, did not respond to a request for comment. Michael T. Slager, who shot and killed Walter L. Scott after a traffic stop and foot pursuit in North Charleston in April 2015, is expected to enter his plea on Tuesday afternoon in Federal District Court here.
Ryan Julison, a spokesman for lawyers representing Mr. Scott’s family, said he could not comment on whether a plea agreement was in place. Four people familiar with the negotiations between Mr. Slager’s defense team and prosecutors confirmed that Mr. Slager had agreed to plead guilty. They demanded anonymity to avoid pre-empting an announcement by the United States Justice Department, which had been preparing to try Mr. Slager later this month on charges that he violated Mr. Scott’s civil rights.
It was not immediately clear which charges Mr. Slager, who is white, might plead guilty to. He was scheduled to go on trial this month on charges that he violated Mr. Scott’s civil rights. In December, his murder trial in state court concluded in a mistrial. Mr. Slager’s defense team said the former officer would plead guilty to using excessive force when he shot Mr. Scott. “We hope that Michael’s acceptance of responsibility will help the Scott family as they continue to grieve their loss,” defense lawyers said in a statement.
The charges stemmed from an episode that brought international condemnation. In April 2015, Officer Slager stopped Mr. Scott, 50, for a broken taillight. Mr. Scott fled on foot, and Mr. Slager eventually drew his weapon and fired at Mr. Scott’s back. Ryan Julison, a spokesman for lawyers representing the Scott family, said he could not comment on whether a plea agreement was in place. The family scheduled a news conference for Tuesday afternoon, after Mr. Slager was expected in court.
A pedestrian filmed part of the fatal encounter, and within days Mr. Slager was fired and charged with murder. The City of North Charleston later reached a $6.5 million settlement with Mr. Scott’s family. The plea agreement, reached nearly five months after a jury in state court deadlocked on a murder charge against Mr. Slager, would represent a rare conviction of a police officer in connection with an on-duty killing.
In his state trial, Mr. Slager testified that he had struggled with Mr. Scott and said he had feared for his life when he began shooting. Mr. Slager, unlike many other officers who opened fire while on patrol, was charged within days of the shooting in North Charleston, where Mr. Slager stopped Mr. Scott for a broken taillight on a Saturday morning.
Mr. Slager is among a handful of police officers to face prosecution for on-duty shootings; an even smaller number are found guilty of any crimes. Although the traffic stop was initially routine, Mr. Scott soon jumped from his car and began to flee. (His family has suggested that Mr. Scott ran because he feared being jailed over outstanding child support payments.)
He was charged less than a year after a white police officer killed an unarmed black teenager in Ferguson, Mo.; that officer, Darren Wilson, was not charged with a crime. Officer Slager gave chase and, he later testified, struggled with Mr. Scott in a vacant lot. But Mr. Scott broke free and continued to run. Mr. Slager then opened fire, striking Mr. Scott in the back, and sending him crumpling to the ground.
Weeks after Mr. Slager was charged, a prosecutor in Baltimore brought charges against six people officers in connection with the death of a man who died in police custody. Those cases ended with no convictions. Part of the episode — indeed, some of the most controversial seconds of it — unfolded as a local barber recorded the events on his cellphone. Images from the video ricocheted around the internet, sat atop newspaper front pages and led television broadcasts.
Mr. Slager was charged with murder and swiftly fired and the City of North Charleston reached a $6.5 million settlement with Mr. Scott’s family.
Mr. Slager and his defense team contended that he was a victim of a national campaign against law enforcement and that a good officer had been swept up in an era of protest.
Testifying in court last year, Mr. Slager testified said that at one point during his the encounter, Mr. Scott gained control of his Taser, leaving the officer in “total fear.”
“I pulled my firearm, and I pulled the trigger,” said Mr. Slager, who said he suffered from nightmares after the shooting. “I fired until the threat was stopped, like I’m trained to do.”
At the state trial, Mr. Slager’s lawyers raised questions about both the prosecution’s evidence and Mr. Scott’s character.
Jurors nearly returned a guilty verdict anyway, intensifying the pressure on Mr. Slager to resolve the outstanding federal and state charges through a plea agreement.