A South Carolina police officer has been charged with murder after video surfaced that appears to show him shooting and killing an unarmed black man in the back.
Michael T. Slager, 33, has been charged with murder in the killing of 50-year-old Walter Scott. The shooting took place Saturday in North Charleston, S.C.
{mosads}Video posted by The New York Times shows a police officer firing eight shots at a man who then falls to the ground. The Times is reporting that the video is of Slager, who is white, shooting Scott.
Police reports said that the fatal interaction occurred after Slager stopped Scott for having a broken tail light. He then used his stun gun on Scott, the Times wrote, citing police reports.
The video shows the two men tussling, and then Scott running away following the altercation. It then shows the officer pointing his weapon as the eight shots can be heard.
The shooting and the graphic video come amid a new scrutiny of the way police officers treat minority communities. The heightened debate was sparked by the deaths of two unarmed black men at the hands of police officers: Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., and Eric Garner in New York.
Scott’s death is being looked at by the Department of Justice, which has reviewed both the Brown and Garner cases.
Slager reportedly told colleagues over the radio that shots had been fired and that Scott had taken his stun gun. Slager said that he feared for his life because Scott took his Taser.