Officer Michael Slager, who is charged with murder after shooting Walter Scott in North Charleston, South Carolina, had a prior complaint made against him about using force.
The police are re-investigating Michael Slager’s use of a stun gun on Mario Givens in 2013.
Michael Thomas Slager was charged with the murder of Walter Scott, 50, after a video of Saturday’s fatal shooting emerged.
The witness who shot the video says he saw the two men having a scuffle on the ground before Walter Scott ran away.
Michael Slager was fired by the North Charleston police department following the murder charge.
He has been held without bail and faces up to life in prison if convicted of murder.
The video, shot by bystander Feidin Santana, shows Michael Slager firing multiple times as Walter Scott runs away.
Michael Slager claimed Walter Scott, a black father of four and former Coast Guard, had taken his stun gun and he had shot in fear of his life.
However, Feidin Santana told NBC News he didn’t see Walter Scott take the stun gun and he turned over the footage after reading the police report’s description of the killing.
“It wasn’t like that, the way they were saying.”
Feidin Santana added that before he starting recording, Walter Scott and the officer were on the ground and Scott was trying to get away.
A stun gun was also at issue in the 2013 complaint Mario Givens filed against the police officer.
Mario Givens said Michael Slager had pushed into his home after coming to his door.
“Come outside or I’ll tase you,” he quoted Michael Slager as saying, adding he then raised his arms over his head but was then stunned in the stomach.
Michael Slager was investigating a complaint against Mario Givens’ brother and apparently mistook Givens for his sibling.
Charges were dropped and Michael Slager was exonerated by a police investigation into the incident.
North Charleston police spokesman Spencer Pryor said the department plans to review the case to see whether its decision was correct.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvyTYOtvf8E
