Police Officer accused of Murder, Michael Slager Gets $500,000 Bail

What comes as no surprise to most, on January 5, 2016 Officer Michael Slager was granted bail. Slager has been charged in the shooting death of Walter Scott, an unarmed black man who was running away at the time of the confrontation. The event was recorded by a passerby and given to the family’s lawyer for the world to see. Not only was Scott shot in the back, the video looks as if the officer may have also planted a taser next to Walter Scott’s body. This video sparked a national call to action amidst the slew of police killings around the country.

Since this incident, Slager has been fired from the North Charleston Police Department and has been sitting in jail since April 2015. On yesterday, Judge Clifton Newman granted the officer bail based on the circumstances of the trial date no starting until late this year. There also seems to be some connection to another familiar Charleston area shooting; prosecutors are simultaneously preparing for the Dylann Roof trial. Roof is a midlands teen that killed nine innocent people inside the Emmanuel Church during bible study.

Slager’s trial will begin on October 31st and the officer will be on house arrest. During the course of incident, Walter Scott’s family won a wrongful death civil settlement with the City of North Charleston, SC in the amount of $6.5 million.

In the meantime, the country awaits for yet another trial of an officer who claims he had been violently attached by a suspect that was trying to flee. According to family lawyer Justin Bamberg, he has stated:

“As far as him being out, it does hurt. It hurts a mother and a father who have to visit their child in a cemetery. Everyone is just looking forward to and preparing for the trial.”