After cell phone footage showing former South Carolina police officer Michael Slager shooting Walter Scott went viral, the Southern States Police Benevolent Association (PBA) apparently dropped Slager as their client. The PBA were supposed to cover Slager's legal fees for the incident but following this, the former officer sued the organization for what he said was a breach of contract, and for being unfair.
Court settlement and acceptance
Days after the shooting, Michael Slager submitted a request to the PBA for legal support but was denied saying that they had determined he had committed an illegal act.
His description of the events that led to the shooting clashed with what was seen in the video footage. Its been therefore stated that Slager lied to PBA officials, which the organization said was a violation of his agreement with them.
Slager had been paying into the program and sued them in November 2015, a court case which was settled and dismissed on Tuesday. This was the same day that the South Carolina officer pleaded guilty to the shooting for violating Walter Scott's civil rights. Blasting News reported on the hung jury from last December over this case. At the same time, the state of South Carolina cut a plea deal to not file additional charges against Slager. In court, Slager admitted that the use of force on Scott was unreasonable, which is a complete reversal of what he has said before which is that the shooting was in self-defense because he feared for his life.
Civil rights violations and charges
The civil rights sentence is for him to spend a maximum period of time in jail which, per the plea agreement, would charge him with second-degree murder which calls for 25-years in jail. Michael Slager pulled over Walter Scott as part of a standard traffic stop before the suspect fled from the vehicle.
Its been stated that he owed child support payments and did not want to be arrested. Slager chased Scott, saying that they both were involved in a physical altercation and that he used both tasers on him.
The video footage showed Walter Scott running away from the officer unarmed at a distance of 15-20 feet, the former officer shot at him 8 times, with 5 of those shots striking Mr.
Scott. Even though Slager said that the 50-year old grabbed his taser, the video doesn't show that. He said that he feared for his life because his taser was grabbed. The footage then shows the police officer pick up a taser near him, placing it next to Walter's body. A federal trial is expected on May 9, with jury selection set for May 15.
