In the aftermath of North Charleston, S.C., Police Officer Michael Slager’s fatal shooting on Saturday of Walter Scott, there are questions surrounding the possible involvement of other police officers and whether they might be charged with covering up the circumstances around the death of the 50-year-old victim, the Daily Mail reports.
However, North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey would not respond to questions surrounding the possibility of charges, saying that the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division was carrying out an independent investigation.
On Wednesday the FBI and the Department of Justice announced that there would also be a federal investigation.
On Saturday morning Slager, 33, shot at Scott’s back eight times as the older man attempted to run away. Video footage released of the shooting shows Slager cuffing Scott’s inert body before apparently dropping an object, which is believed to be his service Taser, at the dead man’s side, the Daily Mail notes.
After the footage came out, Slager was charged with murder and faces a possible death penalty. The next day he was fired from the North Charleston Police Department, but Summey acknowledged that Slager’s wife, who is eight months pregnant, would continue to receive city insurance until after the baby was born because it was the “humane thing to do.”
Read more at the Daily Mail.