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Mistrial Declared for Police Officer Who Killed Walter Scott

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.

By Cynthia Roldán

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.

(c)2016 The State (Columbia, S.C.)

Caroline Cournoyer is GOVERNING's senior web editor.
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