A white police officer who gunned down a fleeing, unarmed black man appeared to plant his service-issue Taser gun at the side of the victim's lifeless body, according to shocking videotape which emerged in the wake of the senseless killing.
Patrolman Michael Slager, 33, opened fire on father-of-four Walter Scott, 50, in North Charleston, South Carolina, on Saturday morning after reportedly stopping him over a broken tail light.
Slager was charged with murder on Tuesday and could face the death penalty after the incendiary footage emerged. The officer had previously defended his actions, saying he feared for his life after Scott wrestled his Taser gun from him during a scuffle.
However, cellphone footage from the scene showed Scott getting around 15-20 feet away before Slager opened fire with seven shots in quick succession followed by an eighth. The 50-year-old U.S. Coast Guard veteran was hit five times.
The officer then slowly walked toward him and ordered Scott to put his hands behind his back, but the man didn't move.
Slager 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.
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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
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
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 parents of Walter Scott told the Today show on Wednesday that they 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.
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
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.'
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 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 unarmed teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri last summer.
Justice Department spokeswoman Dena Iverson said the FBI would also investigate the shooting.
The footage began rolling in a vacant lot apparently moments after Slager fired his Taser.
Slager claimed he tried to Taser the victim during the scuffle, but said Scott managed to wrest the stun gun away, prompting him to draw his pistol.
At that point, the officer said he fired at Scott several times, saying he 'felt threatened' by the Coast Guard veteran.
At no point in the video, which does not show the initial contact between the men, does Scott appear to be armed.
Killing: Walter Scott, left, was killed by Michael Slager, right. Scott was in the Coast Guard for two years, and is pictured left in uniform. Slager is being held in jail on murder charges, and is pictured right in his prison mugshot
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 South Carolina, leaves a fiancée, two siblings and four children. He was honorably discharged from the Coast Guard
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
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.
Footage then appeared to show Slager jogging back to the point where the Taser fell to the ground, bringing it over to Scott's body around 30 feet away and dropping it next to him.
According to police reports, officers performed CPR on Scott.
But video showed that Scott remained face down on the floor for several minutes without being given any medical attention.
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 then arrived and 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.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/
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