The former North Charleston police officer who shot and killed Walter Scott in 2015 will no longer face state murder charges. Ex-cop Michael Slager pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal charges of violating Scott’s civil rights and, in exchange, prosecutors arranged for the existing South Carolina murder charge and two other federal counts (lying to investigators and using a firearm in a violent crime) to be dropped. Under the federal charge to which he pleaded guilty, Slager can face as little as no prison time or as much as life behind bars, all depending on whether a jury believes he committed murder. The former officer’s state case ended in a hung jury last year and was scheduled for a retrial this year.
