Ex-cop Michael Slager faces 19 to 24 years in prison for shooting death of Walter Scott

[kwassa]

Source: ABC News

Former South Carolina police officer Michael Slager faces 19 to 24 years in prison for the deadly shooting of unarmed black man Walter Scott.

U.S. District Judge David Norton ruled today that the former officer committed second-degree murder and obstruction of justice. The judge will announce Slager's final sentencing later today.

The judge's decision comes after Slager, who is white, pleaded guilty to a federal civil rights offense.

Slager shot and killed Scott on April 4, 2015, while Slager was an officer with the North Charleston Police Department. Witness video that surfaced shortly after the encounter appeared to show the moment Slager fatally shot Scott as he ran away. He was fired from the force after the shooting.


Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/US/cop-michael-slager-sentenced-19-24-years-shooting/story?id=51595376

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This is an exception. A policeman actually gets prosecuted.

[True Dough]

1. The video

Of Michael Scott getting shot in the back multiple times while running away made it exponentially more difficult to excuse the police officer's actions.

I'm glad justice is being served.

[bench scientist]

2. That at it was a bench trial not a jury trial.

[muriel_volestrangler]

5. It's worrying that a jury could only produce a mistrial even with the video

That shows there was someone, picked at random, who'd say "I'll never convict a cop of killing a black man, even with the evidence in front of my eyes".

[joshcryer]

12. Whoever caused the mistrial had no conscious whatsoever.

I know their type. They were probably glad he was killed.

[mercuryblues]

4. add to that

at one point during the video the cop picks up the Taser and places it next to Scott's body. His excuse was Scott grabbed the Taser and was going to use it on him. Creating an excuse for "justifiable homicide."

[Aristus]

3. In South Carolina, too.

The very lion's den...

[laserhaas]

6. Just FYI ..the video

https://vimeo.com/124336782

[laserhaas]

7. Without the video, the cop would have gotten away with it

Just sayin....

[Owl]

8. Not long enough.

[Eugene]

9. The Latest: Ex-cop gets 20 years in prison for shooting

Source: Associated Press

The Latest: Ex-cop gets 20 years in prison for shooting

7 minutes ago

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — The Latest on the federal sentencing of a former South Carolina police officer in the death of an unarmed motorist (all times local):

12:15 p.m.

A white former South Carolina police officer has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for shooting an unarmed black motorist to death in 2015.

A federal judge handed down the sentence for Michael Slager on Thursday. Slager pleaded guilty to violating Walter Scott’s civil rights by unjustly shooting him in the back five times as he was running away from a traffic stop.

In arguing for a lighter sentence, Slager’s attorneys told the judge that the former North Charleston officer and Scott fought on the ground and Scott reached for his stun gun during the struggle.

A bystander’s cellphone video didn’t capture the struggle but did show Slager firing into Scott as he was running away.

-snip-

Read more: https://apnews.com/48e2d7cf4a5f415b940b9ced5b7d19f2/The-Latest:-Ex-cop-gets-20-years-in-prison-for-shooting

[IronLionZion]

10. Slager has definitely had time to think about what happens to cops in prison

Considering how everyone knows what he did here, it won't go well for him.

[nitpicker]

11. Link to the DoJ PR

https://www.justice.gov/usao-sc/pr/former-north-charleston-south-carolina-police-officer-michael-slager-sentenced-20-years

[Blue_Tires]

13. 2017 truly is the upside down year...