A white former South Carolina police officer was sentenced to 20 years in prison by a federal judge on Thursday for the shooting death of an unarmed black motorist, an unusually severe sentence for a police shooting.

The judge had earlier ruled that Michael Slager, who shot and killed Walter Scott after a traffic stop in 2015, committed second-degree murder, paving the way for the sentence.

Former South Carolina officer pleads guilty in Walter Scott killing Read more

Slager had already pleaded guilty to the use of excessive force on Scott in May, but it fell to US district judge David Norton to determine if the shooting qualified as murder or manslaughter. The murder designation meant that Norton was working from sentencing guidelines recommending Slager spend 19 to 24 years in prison, and he sentenced the former officer to 20 years.

Scott’s mother, Judy Scott, said through tears that her faith in God gave her the ability to forgive Slager.

Scott’s brother Anthony Scott echoed that sentiment. “I’m not angry at you, Michael,” he said. “Michael, I forgive you, and Michael, I do pray for you now and for your family, because we’ve gone through a traumatic time.”

According to data from the Guardian’s 2015 investigation into police killings, The Counted, Slager is the fifth officer to be convicted of a crime in relation to an on-duty 2015 shooting incident, and the first to be convicted of murder. The Guardian found 1,146 people were killed by police in 2015.



The other four convictions, including that of former Portsmouth Virginia officer Stephen Rankin, were for manslaughter which carries a far shorter sentence. One Virginia officer, for example, was sentenced to just three months after fatally shooting an unarmed black teen.

In addition to those five cases, another four trials are still pending for officers related to 2015 shootings, including the officer who killed Cory Jones in Palm Beach Gardens in October 2015. In another five cases, officers have been acquitted on charges related to a 2015 shooting, like officer Ray Tensing whose case in the fatal shooting of Samuel Dubose ended in a mistrial.

The last US police officer to be convicted of murder for an on-duty shooting was James Ashby of the Rocky Ford police department in Colorado in June 2016, according to Philip Stinson, a researcher at Bowling Green University who specializes in police misconduct.

Ashby shot unarmed Jack Jacquez in the back in Jacquez’s mother’s home in 2014 after mistaking him for a robber. Stinson could not recall another instance of an officer being convicted of murder in recent history.

Officers being convicted or even charged with crimes for fatal use of force is exceedingly rare: it happens less than 1% of the time, according to the Guardian’s investigation.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Judy Scott holds a photo of her son, Walter Scott, in Charleston, South Carolina Thursday. Photograph: Randall Hill/Reuters

Attorneys for ex-North Charleston officer Slager said he shot 50-year-old Scott in self-defense after the two fought and Scott reached for Slager’s stun gun. They said race played no role in the shooting and that Slager never had any “racial animus” toward minorities.

Still, Slager pleaded guilty in federal court to violating Scott’s civil rights. As part of the plea agreement reached in May, prosecutors dropped state murder charges. A year ago, a state judge declared a mistrial when jurors deadlocked.

A bystander captured the shooting on a cellphone, and it was shared around the world, setting off Black Lives Matter protests across the US as demonstrators said it was the perfect example of police officers’ mistreatment of African Americans.

The bystander started recording after the struggle between Slager and Scott. The video showed Scott running away from Slager and the officer firing eight times. Scott was hit in the back five times.

After the shooting, Slager picked up his stun gun and placed it next to Scott. Slager contends he was securing the weapon. Prosecutors think he put it there to bolster his self-defense story.

“Officers rarely receive any prison sentence at all for their crimes, and while Officer Slager is receiving what some may see as a strong sentence, we know that no punishment can repair the hole left in the lives of his loved ones,” said Sherrilyn Ifill, president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. “The fact is that Walter Scott should be alive today.”

The judge also found that Slager, 36, obstructed justice when he made statements to state police after the shooting.

On Wednesday, Scott’s youngest son spoke so he could return to his high school classes. Clutching a photograph of his father, Miles Scott said he has had trouble sleeping ever since his father’s death. He said he misses watching football games with his dad and can’t fathom not being able to watch with him the game they both loved.

“I miss my father every day,” Miles Scott said through tears. “I would like you to sentence the defendant to the strongest sentence the law allows because he murdered my one and only father.”