Mistrial Declared for Ex-Cop Who Killed Fleeing Suspect on Video — After Juror Said He ‘Cannot’ Convict
A South Carolina judge declared a mistrial Monday for disgraced cop Michael Slager, following four days of unsuccessful jury deliberations over his fatal shooting of a fleeing, unarmed suspect, which was captured on video.
“We’re back to square one,” Judge Clifton Newman said as he thanked jurors for their service.
State prosecutors plan to refile murder charges against Slager but have yet to comment on when that might happen.
It was not immediately clear if the deadlock Monday was the result of one or more jurors. The mistrial comes just days after one of the jurors proclaimed he could not in good conscience convict the ex-cop in the death of Walter Scott.
Slager, who is 34 and white, shot an unarmed Scott, who is black, during a traffic stop in early April 2015. Prosecutors have alleged the killing, which was captured on video by a bystander, constitutes murder
Judge Newman earlier refused a defense motion on Monday asking him to declare a mistrial in the case. Newman told the court he would allow jurors to deliberate on a verdict for as long as they were still willing and able.
But around 3:30 p.m., jurors sent a new note to the judge that they could not reach a verdict “despite our best efforts.”
A juror wrote a letter to Newman on Friday noting that “I still cannot, without a reasonable doubt, convict the defendant.”
The note to the judge added that “at the same time, my heart does not want to have to tell the Scott family that the man that killed their son, brother and father is innocent. But with the choices, I cannot and will not change my mind.”
The judge received a second note on Friday from the jury’s foreman (and its only black member), asking that the uncooperative juror be removed: “It’s just one juror that has the issues,” the foreman said.
“That juror needs to leave,” he said. “He is having issues.”
Jurors — 11 whites and one black — were instructed to either find Slager guilty of murder or voluntary manslaughter, or determine that the shooting was an act of self-defense, meaning Slager would go free.
Slager is charged with murder for repeatedly shooting Scott, who was 50, in the back as Scott ran away from him following a traffic stop in North Charleston, South Carolina, on April 4, 2015. Slager pleaded not guilty to the charges.
A witness recorded part of the shooting on video, and the release of the footage — which contradicted how authorities had described the altercation in the immediate aftermath — sparked outrage and spurred further protests about the use of force by police officers against African-Americans.
Slager was fired by North Charleston police soon after the video of the shooting was made public, and he faced widespread condemnation including from South Carolina’s governor. His police chief said he was “sickened” by the footage.
Prior to his arrest, Slager claimed he had been acting in self-defense. His defense team, which could not immediately be reached for comment, has alleged that Scott was reaching for Slager’s Taser in some kind of attack before he turned and fled.
“Should he have assumed that an unarmed man would have attacked a police officer?” Slager’s defense attorney said at trial. His attorney also claimed Scott “made decisions to attack a police officer.”
Prosecutors counter-claimed that Slager staged the scene of the shooting, after Scott’s death, to favor his version of events.
Scott was shot in the back multiple times as he ran away, according to the medical examiner.
Slager has also been indicted on federal charges, including violating civil rights laws, obstruction of justice and using a firearm while committing an act of violence. He has pleaded not guilty in that case as well.
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L. Chris Stewart, lead attorney for Scott’s family, could not be reached for comment Monday afternoon, but he did speak to the media after Monday’s mistrial, and said the fight is far from over.
“It was a long five weeks and a missed opportunity for justice,” Stewart said, according to Live 5 News. “It was a missed opportunity to heal a lot of wounds in the country, a missed opportunity to remind the good officers who put on that badge that they aren’t Michael Slager.
“But if you thought that we were going to come out crying or weeping or weak, you don’t know the Scott family, who have become my family,” Stewart continued. “The fight isn’t over: that was round one.”
Scott’s mother Judy also spoke to reporters following the judge’s decision.
“I’m not sad and I want you to know why I’m not sad,” Judy Scott said. “Because Jesus is on the inside and I know that justice will be served. It’s not over till God says it’s over.”
