Ex-cop free on bail after indictment in Walter Scott’s death

CHARLESTON, S.C. — As federal charges were filed against a white former South Carolina police officer who already faced a state murder charge in the shooting death of unarmed black motorist Walter Scott, Scott’s lawyer and family praised the federal prosecutors for pressing the case.

“I think the Justice Department is tired of sitting on the sidelines, and they think this is one they can definitely win and send a message to police departments around the country,” said attorney Chris Stewart.

A bystander’s cell phone video captured images of Slager, then a North Charleston police officer, firing eight times as Scott ran from a traffic stop in April 2015.

The federal indictment charges that Slager, while acting as a law officer, deprived Scott of his civil rights.

The charge of depriving Scott of his civil rights can carry the death penalty, because Scott lost his life, but Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Klumb said the government is seeking a maximum of life because there are no aggravating circumstances in the case.