A white South Carolina police officer who claimed he killed a black man in self-defense has been fired and faces murder charges after a bystander’s video recorded him firing eight shots at the man’s back as he ran away. The city’s mayor also said he’s ordered body cameras to be worn by every single officer on the force.
The officer, Michael Thomas Slager, has been fired, but the town will continue to pay for his health insurance because his wife is eight months pregnant, said North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey, who called it a tragedy for two families.
Police Chief Eddie Diggers said he was “sickened” by what he saw on the video, but his explanations were repeatedly interrupted by shouts of “no justice, no peace!” and other hard questions that he said he couldn’t answer. The mayor then took back the podium and threatened to close the news conference.
Protests began within hours of the murder charge against Slager, which was announced Tuesday, the same day the video was released to the media. About 75 people gathered outside City Hall in North Charleston, led by a Black Lives Matter, a group formed after the fatal shooting of another black man in Ferguson, Missouri.
Guest
- Glenn Smith, editor at The Post and Courier. He tweets @glennsmith5.
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