Judge declares mistrial in case against former North Charleston police officer
A jury could not reach a decision on Monday in the murder trial against a former North Charleston police officer accused of shooting a black motorist in the back.
Shortly after 3:30 p.m., Monday, Circuit Judge Clifton Newman declared a mistrial in the five-week case against Michael Slager, whose defense argued he feared for his life when Walter Scott got control of Slager’s stun gun.
A passerby turned over video of the encounter between Slager and Scott, 50. Slager was fired by the North Charleston Police Department shortly after.
The jury – consisting of one black and 11 white jurors – deliberated for more than 20 hours. They left for home over the weekend undecided.
On Monday, jurors sent a note to the judge indicating that “the majority” were still undecided on a verdict. They also posed numerous questions to the judge. They asked for clarification on why voluntary manslaughter was added as a possible verdict and whether the definition of self-defense for a police is different than for the average person.
The Associated Press contributed to this story. Check back for updates to this developing story.
This story was originally published December 5, 2016 at 3:47 PM with the headline "Judge declares mistrial in case against former North Charleston police officer."