- Officer Michael Slager fired one day after he was charged with murder on Tuesday by North Charleston police
- Mayor Keith Summey refused to say whether other police officers were involved in the fatal shooting of 50-year-old Walter Scott amid much public anger and chanting at city hall on Wednesday
- Slager, a 33-year-old white cop, had initially defended his actions, saying he feared for his life after Scott wrestled his Taser gun from him during a scuffle
- Anonymous cellphone video which emerged on Tuesday blew the cop's version of events wide open
- Video showed Slager firing 8 shots around 20 feet from Scott, hitting him five times in the back as he ran away. Sagler then appeared to plant his Taser at Scott's lifeless body after cuffing him
- Charleston County Coroner's Office announced that the 50-year-old's death was the result of multiple gunshot wounds to the back
- Mayor confirmed that Slager's wife, who is eight months' pregnant, will still receive health insurance from the city until her baby is born as it's the 'humane' thing to do
- Local authorities announced on Wednesday that they had ordered 250 body cameras for North Charleston PD
- This as the FBI and the Justice Department's civil rights prosecutors announced on Wednesday there would be a federal probe
Local
authorities refused to say on Wednesday whether other police officers
will be charged in the cover-up of an unarmed black father's fatal
shooting by a white cop.
North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey would not answer questions on
the involvement of other members of the force in the killing of Walter
Scott, 50, who was shot five times in the back by Officer Michael Slager
in South Carolina.
The
33-year-old patrolman, who is white, initially defended his
actions, saying he feared for his life after Scott wrestled his Taser
gun from him during a scuffle when he pulled him over for a broken brake
light on Saturday morning.
Four days later, anonymous cellphone footage emerged and blew Slager's story wide open.
The
video showed the officer firing eight shots at Scott, a father-of-four,
from around 20 feet away while the man had his back turned and was
fleeing. Sagler then cuffed Scott's lifeless body and was seen dropping an object - possibly his service-issue Taser - by his side.
The cop was charged with murder on Tuesday and could face the death penalty.
During
a chaotic press conference on Wednesday, demonstrators grew angry after
the mayor took over questions directed at Police Chief Eddie Driggers
who stepped back from the podium.
Mayor
Summey refused to answer questions on other cops' involvement, citing
an independent investigation underway by the South Carolina Law
Enforcement Division.
Slager
was fired one day after his murder charge but his wife, who is eight
months' pregnant, will still receive insurance from the city until after
her baby was born because it was the 'humane thing to do', the mayor
said.
This as the FBI and the Justice Department's civil rights prosecutors announced on Wednesday there would be a federal probe
Scroll down for videos
North
Charleston Mayor Keith Summey (pictured left) refused to say whether
other officers were involved in the fatal shooting of unarmed black
father, Walter Scott, on Saturday. Police chief Eddie Driggers avoided
some questions but did say he had been sickened by video of his officer
shooting the man dead
Opening
fire: Michael Slager, a police officer in Charleston, South Carolina,
was caught on video shooting dead 50-year-old black man Walter Scott
after reportedly stopping him over a broken tail light on Saturday
The 33-year-old patrolman (pictured
standing over Scott's lifeless body having just handcuffed him) had
initially defended his actions, saying he feared for his life after
Scott wrestled his Taser gun from him during a scuffle. A video released
Tuesday contradicted his story
Killing: Walter Scott, left, was killed by Michael Slager, right. Scott was a U.S. Coast Guard veteran. Police officer Michael Sagler, (pictured right in his prison mugshot), who has been charged with his murder also was a member of the Coast Guard
A man takes a photo as others look at a
memorial and flowers placed near the site where Walter Scott was killed
in North Charleston
People participate in a rally to
protest the death of Walter Scott, who was killed by police in a
shooting, outside City Hall on April 8, 2015 in North Charleston, South
Carolina
Mayor
Summey and his wife, along with the police chief, visited the Scott
family on Wednesday. Mayor Summey said: 'This has been a horrible
tragedy. There have been two families that have been harmed greatly -
both the victim's and the officer's family.'
The
mayor continued: 'I was taken aback by the warm and kind reception that
we received from Scott family. They are an outstanding family within
our community. The mother and father are wonderful people and they are
suffering.
'
was taken aback by the warm and kind reception that we received from
Scott family. They are an outstanding family within our community. The
mother and father are wonderful people and they are suffering.
North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey
'Please
pray for this family. We will be there to support them for the funeral
with a police escort. Give them the utmost respect and that for the
deceased.'
Scott, a veteran of the U.S. Coastguard, leaves a fiancée, his siblings and four children.
The
mayor said that 250 body cameras were going to installed on police
officers' uniforms and that drafting of a policy for use was already
underway.
Chief Driggers told the press conference that he was 'sickened' by the video and had watched it only once.
No other officers had seen what happened at the shooting scene, according to Driggers.
When
asked why no one had performed CPR on Scott, Driggers then said he
believed one cop had taken off Scott's shirt and tried to perform
life-saving measures.
Driggers said that he had spoken to Walter Scott Sr 'father to father' during a visit to the grieving family's home.
'I
would ask you to give them the respect they deserve during this time,'
Driggers said. 'We are doing our best as a police department not only to
serve but to protect during this time. We are going to continue to
strive to do what's right.'
He added: 'I have been praying for peace, peace for the family and peace for this community.'
Before
the press conference on Tuesday, demonstrators held up signs and
chanted: 'This is what democracy looks like' and 'no justice, no peace'.
Driggers
said his department had been under 'no obligation' to turn over the
investigation to an independent body but did so 'because it was the
right thing to do'.
Demonstrators
gathered outside city hall earlier on Wednesday, holding signs which
read Black Lives Matter, to protest against the latest cop killing at a
time of mounting unrest over police use of force in the U.S. -
particularly against black men.
Officer Michael Slager, 33, was caught
on videotape holding an object - possibly his Taser - after he shot
dead unarmed father-of-four Walter Scott whose body can be seen lying on
the ground to the left of the screen
Officer
Michael Slager was caught on video tape on Saturday picking up an
object - possibly his Taser - from where the confrontation started with
Walter Scott and appearing to move it over to the father-of-four's dead
body
Slager appeared to be unaware he was
being filmed when he fired eight shots at Scott then handcuffed his
lifeless body before jogging back (pictured) to collect something he had
dropped around 20 feet away
The officer appeared to drop his Taser
next to the 50-year-old father-of-four's body in the vacant lot on
Saturday in North Charleston. The officer's earlier statement of the
shooting did not add up to what a video clip revealed on Tuesday
Walter
Scott was seen on camera fleeing from Officer Michael Slager, who draws
his weapon in a shocking sequence captured on Saturday in Charleston,
South Carolina, which led to Scott's death
Gunned
down: Former coast guard Walter Scott is pictured above crumpling to
the ground after the eighth shot is fired by Officer Slager
Scott collapsed face-down on a patch
of grass. Slager then walked over, shouted at him to put his hands
behind his back, then handcuffed him
Aftermath: Officer Slager is pictured
standing over Walter Scott and feeling for a pulse after he put the
man's fallen body in handcuffs. According to police reports, officers
performed CPR on the 50-year-old father - but the cop was not filmed
giving any medical assistance
A
law enforcement colleague of Slager then arrived and put on blue
medical gloves before handling the body, but was not seen giving any
medical assistance
The
Charleston County Coroner's Office announced on Wednesday that the
50-year-old's death was the result of multiple gunshot wounds to the
back. The death was deemed a homicide.
The father of Walter Scott told the Today show on Wednesday that the family wanted justice for their son.
'It
would have never come to light. They would have swept it under the rug,
like they did with so many others,' Walter Scott Sr said.
Mr
Scott Sr added: 'The way he [Slager] was shooting that gun, it looked
like he was trying to kill a deer... I don't know whether it was racial,
or it was something wrong with his head.'
The
way he [Slager] was shooting that gun, it looked like he was trying to
kill a deer... I don't know whether it was racial, or it was something
wrong with his head.
The African-American victim's father, Walter Scott Sr, on his son's murder by a white cop in South Carolina
An
outraged representative of Scott's family added: 'This was a cop who
felt like he could get away with just shooting anybody that many times
in the back.'
The
footage began rolling in a vacant lot in North Charleston, moments
before Slager fired his gun as Scott makes a break to flee.
Scott
may have tried to run because he owed child support which can send you
to jail in South Carolina, the family attorney said.
After
a quick fire of seven shots, then a break until an eighth shot which
left Scott on the ground, the cop made his way over to the man who was
lying face down.
He
then handcuffed his lifeless body before jogging back to where he had
fired the shots to pick up an object from the ground - possibly the
Taser.
The
officer then returned to Scott where a second officer was on the scene.
Slager can be seen on video tape appearing to drop an object next to
the victim's body.
The
footage also contradicted police claims that officers performed CPR on
the suspect. It was only after two-and-a-half minutes that Slager was
seen placing his hand on Scott's neck in an apparent attempt to check
his pulse.
A
black law enforcement colleague at the scene put on blue medical gloves
before handling the body, but was not seen giving any medical
assistance.
The
two cops were later joined by a third officer, who also did not appear
to tend to the victim. As soon as emergency responders arrived, they
pronounced Scott dead at the scene.
Within hours of the footage, acquired by the Charleston Post and Courier, emerging on Tuesday, authorities filed the murder charges and arrested Slager.
Justice Department spokeswoman Dena Iverson said the FBI would also investigate the shooting.
Walter Scott's brother, Anthony Scott,
hugs visitors outside his home near North Charleston, South Carolina on
Wednesday. A police officer has been charged with his brother's murder
Walter
Scott, 50, from North Charleston, South Carolina, leaves a fiancée, two
siblings and four children. He was honorably discharged from the Coast
Guard (right)
Mr Scott shared a picture on social
media of his days in the U.S. Coastguard. According to his own caption,
he is pictured on the far left
Walter Scott's parents, Judy and
Walter Sr, spoke on Wednesday to say that they wanted justice for their
son and if it had not been for the cellphone footage, his death would
have been swept under the rug, 'like so many others'
Muhiydin D'Baha leads a group
protesting the shooting death of Walter Scott at city hall in North
Charleston, South Carolina on Wednesday. Scott was killed by a North
Charleston police office after a traffic stop on Saturday. The officer,
Michael Thomas Slager, has been charged with murder
Nicole
King, a friend of shooting victim Walter Scott, is comforted by friends
during a rally in front of City Hall on Wednesday morning, pictured
left, and right, Reverend Dr. Arthur Prioleau holds a sign during a
protest
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