Incendiary footage emerged yesterday evening showing Patrolman Michael Slager, 33, firing shot after shot into the back of 50-year-old Walter Scott as he fled over a grassy lot in North Charleston, South Carolina.
He then handcuffed his body and stood over him (top left) as back-up arrived. Scott, a father-of-four and Coast Guard veteran (top right in uniform) had reportedly been pulled over for a broken tail light. The officer claims Scott then ran away, at which point he tried to Taser him, but said Scott managed to wrest the stun gun away - prompting him to draw his pistol. Scott gets a few yards away before Slager opens fire - seven shots in quick succession then an eighth, with three of them missing. According to earlier police reports, officers performed CPR on the victim. But video shows that Scott remained face down for several minutes without being given any medical attention. It is only after around two-and-a-half minutes that Slager is seen placing his hand on Scott's neck in an apparent attempt to check his pulse. A black colleague then arrives and puts on blue medical gloves before handling the body, but is also not seen performing any first aid. After the video emerged, Slager was charged with murder. He is pictured, far top-right, at his booking hearing in court. The killing comes at a time of mounting unrest over police use of force - particularly against black men - after violent protests erupted over the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson last summer.
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