SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Screenshot from the by-stander's video footage which shows Officer Michael Slager in the process of shooting a fleeing Walter Scott in the back.
'This is History': Police Officer Indicted on Federal Charges in Walter Scott Killing
Charges for former North Charleston officer include violation of civil rights law
May 11, 2016
A federal grand jury has indicted former South Carolina police officer Michael Slager for the fatal shooting of Walter Scott.
The April 4, 2015 shooting was captured on film by a bystander who later said, "I knew the cop didn't do the right thing."
A statement issued Wednesday from the Department of Justice says that the three-count indictment includes charges for a federal civil rights offense for the shooting, excessive force without legal justification, and obstruction of justice for making false statements to South Carolina Law Enforcement Division investigators.
Slager, who is white, initially pulled over Scott, who is black, for having a broken tail light on his car. As Scott attempted to run away, the North Charleston officer shot the unarmed 50-year-old Navy veteran and father of four five times from behind.
A conviction on the charges mean a potential $250,000 fine and a maximum sentence of a life behind bars. The 34-year-old already faces an and indictment by a state court. The Post and Courierexplains:
The new charges could serve as a backstop if the state's case against Slager were to fail. Putting him on trial in both state and federal courts for the same shooting would not be double jeopardy because the jurisdictions are considered sovereign.
"This is history in so many ways," said L. Chris Stewart, an attorney for Scott's family, according toCNN. "This never happens," he said of the indictment, citing cases like those of Michael Brown and Trayvon Martin.
Indeed, as the Post and Courier reports, "The indictment makes the case one of the few high-profile American police killings in recent years to result in a federal criminal charge."
"If this can be the turning point, where the Justice Department is going to step in and help these families," Steward added, "then this is a great day."
Slager remains free on $500,000 state bail.
On January 20th, it begins...
Political revenge. Mass deportations. Project 2025. Unfathomable corruption. Attacks on Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Pardons for insurrectionists. An all-out assault on democracy. Republicans in Congress are scrambling to give Trump broad new powers to strip the tax-exempt status of any nonprofit he doesn’t like by declaring it a “terrorist-supporting organization.” Trump has already begun filing lawsuits against news outlets that criticize him. At Common Dreams, we won’t back down, but we must get ready for whatever Trump and his thugs throw at us. Our Year-End campaign is our most important fundraiser of the year. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. By donating today, please help us fight the dangers of a second Trump presidency. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
A federal grand jury has indicted former South Carolina police officer Michael Slager for the fatal shooting of Walter Scott.
The April 4, 2015 shooting was captured on film by a bystander who later said, "I knew the cop didn't do the right thing."
A statement issued Wednesday from the Department of Justice says that the three-count indictment includes charges for a federal civil rights offense for the shooting, excessive force without legal justification, and obstruction of justice for making false statements to South Carolina Law Enforcement Division investigators.
Slager, who is white, initially pulled over Scott, who is black, for having a broken tail light on his car. As Scott attempted to run away, the North Charleston officer shot the unarmed 50-year-old Navy veteran and father of four five times from behind.
A conviction on the charges mean a potential $250,000 fine and a maximum sentence of a life behind bars. The 34-year-old already faces an and indictment by a state court. The Post and Courierexplains:
The new charges could serve as a backstop if the state's case against Slager were to fail. Putting him on trial in both state and federal courts for the same shooting would not be double jeopardy because the jurisdictions are considered sovereign.
"This is history in so many ways," said L. Chris Stewart, an attorney for Scott's family, according toCNN. "This never happens," he said of the indictment, citing cases like those of Michael Brown and Trayvon Martin.
Indeed, as the Post and Courier reports, "The indictment makes the case one of the few high-profile American police killings in recent years to result in a federal criminal charge."
"If this can be the turning point, where the Justice Department is going to step in and help these families," Steward added, "then this is a great day."
Slager remains free on $500,000 state bail.
A federal grand jury has indicted former South Carolina police officer Michael Slager for the fatal shooting of Walter Scott.
The April 4, 2015 shooting was captured on film by a bystander who later said, "I knew the cop didn't do the right thing."
A statement issued Wednesday from the Department of Justice says that the three-count indictment includes charges for a federal civil rights offense for the shooting, excessive force without legal justification, and obstruction of justice for making false statements to South Carolina Law Enforcement Division investigators.
Slager, who is white, initially pulled over Scott, who is black, for having a broken tail light on his car. As Scott attempted to run away, the North Charleston officer shot the unarmed 50-year-old Navy veteran and father of four five times from behind.
A conviction on the charges mean a potential $250,000 fine and a maximum sentence of a life behind bars. The 34-year-old already faces an and indictment by a state court. The Post and Courierexplains:
The new charges could serve as a backstop if the state's case against Slager were to fail. Putting him on trial in both state and federal courts for the same shooting would not be double jeopardy because the jurisdictions are considered sovereign.
"This is history in so many ways," said L. Chris Stewart, an attorney for Scott's family, according toCNN. "This never happens," he said of the indictment, citing cases like those of Michael Brown and Trayvon Martin.
Indeed, as the Post and Courier reports, "The indictment makes the case one of the few high-profile American police killings in recent years to result in a federal criminal charge."
"If this can be the turning point, where the Justice Department is going to step in and help these families," Steward added, "then this is a great day."
Slager remains free on $500,000 state bail.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.