South Carolina ex-policeman's murder
trial opens with jury selection
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[October 31, 2016]
By Harriet McLeod
CHARLESTON, S.C. (Reuters) - The murder
trial of a former South Carolina policeman who shot an unarmed black
motorist last year opens on Monday with jury selection, putting the
national spotlight back on a case that dramatized the issue of racial
bias in law enforcement.Michael Slager, a white North Charleston police
officer, was arrested and charged with murder in April 2015 when a
bystander's cellphone video emerged that appeared to show him firing
eight times at the back of a black man who was fleeing from him.
Slager, now 34, has pleaded not guilty and was released from jail on
bond in early January.In pretrial motions, Slager's defense lawyers said
the officer was on patrol in what they described as a dangerous
neighborhood when he stopped Walter Scott, 50, for driving a car with a
broken brake light.When Scott got out of his car and fled, Slager said
he chased the black man on foot and hit him with a stun gun at least
twice. Defense attorneys will say Slager felt threatened when Scott
grabbed the stun gun after a struggle and pointed it at the officer. The
video of Scott's death helped trigger a public outcry that flared after
the killings of unarmed black men in Missouri, New York and elsewhere.
Slager's trial is likely to renew national scrutiny on the treatment of
minority groups by law enforcement agencies across the United
States."The whole world is watching these decisions as so many policemen
having gotten away with killing a black man,” James Johnson, president
of the South Carolina chapter of the National Action Network, said in a
phone interview.
About 180 prospective jurors were expected to report on Monday to the
Charleston County Judicial Center in neighboring Charleston before a
panel of 12 is selected, according to court documents. The pool
initially included about 600 people.
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![](../images/103116pics/news_b6.jpg)
Former police officer Michael Slager walks to the defense table
during a bond hearing in Charleston, South Carolina, U.S. September
10, 2015. REUTERS/Randall Hill
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Lawyers filed a flurry of motions and documents in recent weeks
asking the judge to move the trial out of Charleston, saying
publicity surrounding the case and possible protests outside the
courthouse could prejudice a jury.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2016/Aug/26/images/ads/current/best_friends_sda_120215.png)
Judge Clifton Newman said last week that he would not sequester
jurors because he did not want to keep them away from their homes on
Nov. 8, Election Day, and during the holidays if the trial lasts
that long, local media reported.
Slager also faces federal charges in a U.S. District Court in
Charleston. A trial date has not been set.
(Editing by Frank McGurty and Lisa Von Ahn)
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