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 Michael Slager, 33, was fired from his patrolman job in North
Charleston after being charged with murder in the April 4 death of
Walter Scott, 50.
Video of the shooting captured by a bystander on his cellphone was
widely distributed, and the death reignited a public outcry over
police treatment of African Americans that flared last year after
killings of unarmed black men in Ferguson, Missouri, New York City
and elsewhere.
Scott's shooting prompted calls for police reform in South
Carolina's third-largest city, but did not spark the riots and
looting experienced in other U.S. cities where protesters clashed
with law enforcement following such deaths.
The video evidence alone will not guarantee a conviction, said
Scarlett Wilson, solicitor for the Ninth Judicial Circuit. Witness
testimony also will be important, she said.
"Just because you have video in this case, it doesn't mean it's the
be-all and end-all," she told a news conference.
 If convicted of murder, Slager would face between 30 years and life
in prison without the possibility of parole. No trial date has been
set, Wilson said.
A lawyer for Scott's family, Chris Stewart, said he expects to file
a suit in the next few months. He said Slager should have been
reprimanded for prior accusations of excessive force before the
run-in with Scott.
"This is just step one," Stewart said of the indictment, which was
praised by Scott's family. "This entire situation never should have
occurred with Officer Slager."
Scott was driving a black Mercedes-Benz when Slager pulled him over
for a broken tail light. Video from the dashboard camera in Slager's
cruiser recorded a respectful exchange before the officer returned
to his car.
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A few minutes later, after Slager had told him to stay in the
Mercedes, Scott emerged and ran off, apparently unarmed.
The subsequent cell phone video showed the men in a brief tussle
before Scott ran again, Slager fired his handgun eight times and
Scott slumped into the grass. There was a gap between the two
videos.
Slager has said he feared for his life when he shot Scott.
The ex-officer's attorney, Andrew Savage III, said on Monday his
team was still waiting to receive the state's investigative
materials.
"Until we have an opportunity to fully evaluate the state’s case and
to compare it with our own investigation we will not be commenting
on any aspect of the case," he said.
(Reporting by Harriet McLeod; Writing by Colleen Jenkins; Editing by
David Gregorio, James Dalgleish and Alan Crosby)
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