Dash Cam Video Released in South Carolina Police Shooting

10 Apr, 2015

A video captured by a South Carolina police cruiser’s dashboard camera surfaced on Thursday showing a black man fleeing after what appears to be a routine traffic stop by a white officer who would eventually pursue and fatally shoot him in the back.

The footage, released by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) and aired by CNN, was taken minutes before a bystander’s video recorded North Charleston Patrolman Michael Slager gunning down 50-year-old Walter Scott as he ran. The video of the shooting on Saturday led to Slager’s arrest on a murder charge and dismissal from his job.

The new video clip, which lasts just four minutes, shows Slager, 33, approaching a black Mercedes-Benz and asking the driver, Scott, for his license and proof of insurance. In an even, professional voice, he tells Scott he was pulled over a broken tail light. A passenger is also seen sitting in the car.

The driver and officer have a brief exchange that’s inaudible, and the officer returns to his patrol car. After about two minutes, Scott gets out of the Mercedes car and signals to the officer, who says: “You got to stay in the car.”

Scott gets back into the vehicle and then about 20 seconds later, he emerges again and takes off running.

After the shooting, Slager said he had fired his weapon because Scott had taken his stun gun and he feared for his life. The second video offers no evidence of the officer’s claim, although there are a gap between the two clips.

In the footage of the bystander, Scott does not appear armed at any point, and neither video shows any physical confrontation between the men.

Thom Berry, a SLED spokesman, said there were other videos taken when other responding officers arrived at the scene, but none of them contained the shooting or its aftermath.

After Walter Scott fled, the new video shows the male passenger being frisked and then led away by another officer who arrived at the scene. It was not clear what the passenger witnessed or whether he remains in police custody.

Slager has retained prominent Charleston lawyer Andy Savage to defend him, court records show. Savage’s previous clients included convicted al Qaeda operative Ali al-Marri.

“As we focus in on the facts, we will probably have more to say, but it is far too early for us to be saying what we think,” Savage said in a statement.

Reuters

Image Reuters  

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