FBI investigating after SC officer charged in deadly shooting

CHARLESTON, SC (AP) — The FBI and the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division are investigating the deadly shooting of a black man by a white police officer in North Charleston.

The agencies will look for whether the shooting amounted to a federal civil rights violation. North Charleston Patrolman Michael Slager is charged with murder in the death of Walter Scott.

Slager fired eight times from behind as Scott ran away after a traffic stop. Video recorded by a witness shows 50-year-old Walter Scott running from the officer, as several bullets are pumped into his back. Scott is then handcuffed.

Authorities say Patrolman Michael Thomas Slager had stopped Scott because one of his brake lights was out. Slager was denied bond at an initial hearing Tuesday. He was not accompanied by a lawyer.

About 40 to 50 people gathered outside North Charleston City Hall in South Carolina Wednesday, protesting the weekend shooting death.

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