Michael Slager, a white police officer in North Charleston, S.C., was charged with murder on Tuesday after he shot an unarmed man, Walter Scott, to death.
A graphic video obtained by the New York Times shows Slager shooting Scott, who is African-American, several times in the back while the man ran away …
According to police, the 50-year-old Scott was pulled over in North Charleston on Saturday for driving with a broken taillight on his Mercedes-Benz.
Officials say Scott ran away from Slager during the traffic stop, and that Slager ran after him, firing his Taser, which failed to stop Scott from escaping.
The men wrestled, and the video begins right after the scuffle.
Scott is seen running away from Slager, who opens fire at least eight times; Scott was hit three times in the back, once in the rear end, and once in the ear.
In his first communication to fellow officers after the shooting, Slager is believed to have said, "Shots fired and the subject is down. He took my Taser."
A slowed-down analysis of the video by the Times appears to show that Slager dropped something next to Scott, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The FBI and Justice Department are investigating the incident.
Scott had been arrested about 10 times, mostly for failing to pay child support or show up for court hearings, according to Charleston media reports.
His brother, Anthony, told reporters that he believed Scott had fled from the police on Saturday for that very reason, because he owed child support.
“He has four children; he doesn’t have some type of big violent past or arrest record,” said Chris Stewart, a lawyer for Scott’s family. “He had a job; he was engaged."
"He had back child support and didn’t want to go to jail.”
North Charleston is South Carolina’s third-largest city, with a population of about 100,000. African-Americans make up about 47 percent of residents.
The Police Department is about 80 percent white.
The shooting came on the heels of high-profile instances of police officers’ using lethal force against Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., and elsewhere.
The deaths have set off enormous controversy and a national debate over whether police are too quick to use force, particularly when black males are involved.
In related news, Isaiah Washington told Chris Rock, controversially, to "adapt" after the latter was stopped by the police for the third time in seven weeks.