“It sets a good precedent for a city not tolerating this sort of behavior from police officers.” 
 
 Former police officer Michael Slager, who is charged with murder for shooting Walter Scott (Reuters/Randall Hill) 
 
 Scott’s death was one of half a dozen cases of unarmed black men being killed by police officers in late 2014 and early 2015 that sparked protests in dozens of cities and prompted new discussions of police transparency and reform. A passer-by’s video of the April 4 killing appears to show the officer shooting Mr. Scott in the back while he was running away. The North Charleston City Council voted to authorize the settlement at its meeting Thursday night, according to lawyers for the Scott family and a statement issued by the city. Slager was indicted on a murder charge in June, and in September Circuit Judge Clifton Newman denied bail, calling the evidence against Slager “persuasive.” 
 
 Anthony Scott, Walter Scott’s brother, said Thursday, “Though nothing can replace having Walter in our lives, the city of North Charleston’s historic actions ensure that he did not die in vain. It’s a lot of money but we had to realistically face the fact that the potential for a very large verdict was there because of the video and because we have a police officer who is charged with murder.” 
 
 Asked how the parties arrived at a figure, Chris Stewart, a lawyer for the Scott family, said, “You have to be realistic. North Charleston’s decision to pay Scott’s family rather than face a civil suit comes as Michael Slager, the officer who killed Scott, remains imprisoned while he awaits trial on murder charges. Citizens have become engaged in this process and government officials are listening.” 
 
 He later added: “This settlement is a step in the right direction for the family, the city, the Lowcountry, and our state.” 
 
 The settlement comes after the City of New York agreed to pay $5.9 million to the family of Eric Garner, whose death after allegedly being put in a chokehold by an NYPD officer was captured on bystander video, and the City of Baltimore agreed to pay $6.4 million to the family of Freddie Gray, whose death in the back of a police transport van prompted murder charges for six officers. There are just five cases this year that have resulted in charges for the officers involved, and in all but one of those cases video evidence was crucial to prosecutors’ decision to bring charges. So far this year, police officers have shot and killed more than 750 people, according to a Washington Post database tracking police shootings all year.
– The family of an unarmed black motorist shot in the back by a South Carolina police officer has been given a settlement that lawyers say is "historic"—and the biggest in recent cases of its kind. North Charleston's city council voted unanimously on Thursday to settle with Walter Scott's family for $6.5 million, the New York Times reports. A city attorney tells the Post and Courier that they're proud they could "settle a case of this magnitude without a brick being thrown, without a fire being set, and without a lawsuit being filed." He says the city took the $6.4 million settlement in the Freddie Gray case and the $5.9 million settlement in the Eric Garner case into account during negotiations. As part of the settlement, Scott's family has agreed not to sue the city or its employees, the Times notes. The city lawyer says that while the payment is large, there was the potential for "a very large verdict" if the case went to court because there's video of the shooting and former officer Michael Slager has been charged with murder. "It's historic," an attorney for the Scott family tells the Washington Post. "It sets a good precedent for a city not tolerating this sort of behavior from police officers." Anthony Scott, Walter Scott's brother, says the settlement ensures that Scott's four children will be taken care of financially, and a portion of it will be donated to the Red Cross to help flood victims in the state, the Post and Courier reports. (Slager is in jail awaiting trial for the April 4 shooting, and he says video of the incident doesn't tell the whole story.)