Jurors considering a murder charge against a white South Carolina former police officer who fatally shot a black man in the back last year told a judge today they were unable to reach a verdict, and the judge ordered them to continue deliberations.
Former patrolman Michael Slager killed motorist Walter Scott on April 4, 2015, firing eight times at his back as he fled a traffic stop for a broken tail light. A bystander captured the shooting on cell phone video. Scott, 50, was a father of four.
Slager’s lawyers have said that he acted in self-defense.
The 12-member jury – 11 whites and one African-American – handed a note to the judge just after 1 p.m. today. “It is clear that jurors will not be able to come to consensus,” the panel said in a note to Judge Clifton Newman.
Jurors have already deliberated for three days over whether to convict Slager. They sent a message to Circuit Judge Clifton Newman asking to see a transcript of the testimony from the man who took cellphone video of Slager shooting Scott.
