Ex-North Charleston officer’s indictment: Justice or scapegoating?

The federal indictment of an ex-North Charleston police office either sends a signal that the nation has had enough or that he is a scapegoat for all white-on-black police shootings, lawyers said Wednesday.

“This has brought us one step closer to justice,” said Rep. Justin Bamberg, D-Bamberg, an attorney who represents the family of Walter Scott, who was shot to death while fleeing from then-officer Michael Slager in April 2015 in a vacant lot.

Slager, 35, was indicted on three federal charges: obstruction of justice, use of a weapon during the commission of a crime of violence and the civil rights violation of deprivation of rights under color of law. The indictment, unsealed Wednesday, does not accuse Slager of a hate crime.

“What the government did today was make a very loud and clear statement throughout this country that enough is enough,” said Bamberg, noting the U.S. Justice Department rarely gets involved with police misconduct cases.

But Andy Savage and Shaun Kent, the two attorneys for Slager, released a statement in which they suggested that their client was being singled out by federal prosecutors who wished to make an example of him.

“This is an unprecedented step by the Department of Justice. It seems very extreme and the timing is very interesting,” Kent and Savage said. “It really feels as if officer Slager is carrying the burden of many past cases that were handled differently.”

Scott’s family said the indictment lends support to the for body-worn cameras on police officers across the nation.

“I thank God my son was the one that was used to pull the cover off all the (police) violence and the cover-up,” Scott’s mother, Judy, said. “But I’m sad because my son is gone.”

All charges stem from the 2015 shooting death of Scott, whom Slager stopped for a minor traffic violation. Scott jumped out of his car and ran, with Slager in pursuit.

At a federal hearing Wednesday in Charleston, Slager pleaded not guilty.

The charge of deprivation of rights under color of law carries a potential death sentence, and on Wednesday afternoon Magistrate Judge Bristow Marchant appointed Savage and Kent, experienced criminal lawyers, to represent Slager.

Under federal court rules, anyone facing a federal death sentence must have two experienced attorneys. The U.S. Justice Department has an extensive and lengthy review process before making a decision on whether to seek the death penalty.

Marchant then released Slager on the same $500,000 bond the ex-police officer has posted in state court, where he faces murder charges. Prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty in the state case; the maximum penalty in that case is life without parole.

Scott’s 2015 shooting helped spark a national conversation on excessive police force, especially in cases involving white officers shooting black people.

The shooting in a vacant lot was captured on a bystander’s cell phone video and was taken as evidence by many that Scott’s shooting was a kind of execution rather than a legitimate use of force by a law officer. However, Slager’s lawyer has said there was a fight between the two men that was not captured on video and that Slager fired in fear for his life.

The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Columbia Division and SLED. The case is being prosecuted by assistant U.S. attorney Eric Klumb of the District of South Carolina and trial attorney Jared Fishman of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section.

In its obstruction of justice charge, the U.S. attorney’s office in South Carolina is alleging that Slager, several days after the shooting, took steps to impede State Law Enforcement Division agents in their investigation of the matter. Specifically, the indictment said, Slager “knowingly misled SLED investigators by falsely stating that (Slager) fired his weapon at Scott while Scott was coming forward at him with a Taser.”

The indictment continues, “In truth and in fact, as defendant Michael Slager then well knew, (Slager) repeatedly fired his weapon at Scott when Scott was running away from him.”

In the civil rights violation, the indictment says that Slager, “while acting under color of law as an officer with the North Charleston police department, shot Walter Scott without legal justification, willfully depriving him of the right ... to be free from the use of unreasonable force by a law enforcement officer.”

The federal government’s weighing in on the matter sets up a separate prosecutorial track from a state case already well under way.

In state court, Slager is scheduled to go on trial on Oct. 31 on a murder charge.

On Wednesday, state prosecutor Scarlett Wilson reacted to the federal indictment. “Simply put, the state and federal prosecutions vindicate separate interests and we both will work hard to find justice for Mr. Scott and Mr. Slager,” Wilson said in a statement.

The video of Scott’s shooting has been cited around the country as a vivid illustration of what African-Americans are talking about when they say white police officers use excessive force against members of their race.

Since January, when he was released on bond, Slager has been living at an undisclosed location in South Carolina and must have no contact with the victim’s family. He had been held in solitary confinement at the Charleston County Detention Center since his arrest last April.

If convicted of murder in the state trial, Slager faces 30 years in prison to life without parole.

University of South Carolina School of Law assistant professor Seth Stoughton, who specializes in police issues, said Wednesday that while the government has a high standard to meet in bringing such a civil rights charge, a jury should find the video evidence of the shooting compelling.

“The jury must find specific intent – the requirement the officer acted willfully to violate the person’s rights,” Stoughton said. “But it is a relatively egregious case.”

Stoughton also said that by bringing this case, the federal government “meant to send a strong message that police misconduct will be taken very seriously. It has said it will police the police.”

This story was originally published May 11, 2016 at 10:29 AM with the headline "Ex-North Charleston officer’s indictment: Justice or scapegoating?."