CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) - The Latest on the sentencing of a former South Carolina officer in the shooting death of an unarmed motorist (all times local):
5:15 p.m.
An expert in traumatic stress says the interview state police conducted with Michael Slager days after he shot an unarmed black motorist to death does not meet accepted standards in the field.
Charles Morgan testified Tuesday the interview done by State Law Enforcement Division agents should have been videotaped to provide visual records that could yield clues to Slager’s state of mind.
The forensic psychiatrist said people under severe stress often don’t seem manic and are often oddly calm or dissociative, something that can be observed visually. He also noted that someone who has lapses in memory, particularly after a stressful situation, isn’t necessarily lying, an assertion that mirrors claims made by Slager’s attorneys in court filings.
Morgan was the fifth and final witness called Tuesday by attorneys for Slager, who has been jailed since pleading guilty in May to violating Scott’s civil rights. He faces a possible life sentence.
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3:40 p.m.
An expert in 3-D modeling says his analysis has come up with two theories about what happened to a stun gun before a white former officer shot an unarmed black motorist.
Eugene Liscio (lih-SEE-oh) testified Tuesday that the 3-D model he created of the scene where Michael Slager shot Walter Scott shows that the officer didn’t kick or throw his stun gun before the shooting.
Liscio says the angles of the weapon and of the officer’s arm aren’t consistent with the stun gun being forcefully moved. Liscio said he thinks either Scott threw the stun gun, or that it hit Slager’s foot and fell to the ground.
Slager has been jailed since pleading guilty in May to violating Scott’s civil rights. He faces a possible life sentence.
Liscio was called to the stand by attorneys for Slager, who are arguing the shooting was voluntary manslaughter. A judge is deciding between that and prosecutors’ assertion that Scott’s death is second-degree murder.
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12:40 p.m.
An audio expert who analyzed recordings of the shooting of a black South Carolina motorist says a white police officer was clearly tired and wanted help as he pursued the man on foot following a traffic stop.
David Hallimore testified Tuesday that he could hear exhaustion in Michael Slager’s voice in audio from a microphone on the officer’s uniform.
Hallimore said he also heard Slager tell dispatchers to “step it up” in sending him more officers to assist him.
Earlier Tuesday, a defense video expert testified that he stabilized the blurry cellphone video shot by a bystander to show that Slager and 50-year-old Walter Scott tussled on the ground before the April 2015 shooting.
Slager has been jailed since pleading guilty in May to violating Scott’s civil rights. He faces a possible life sentence.
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11:30 a.m.
A forensic expert says video of a white former South Carolina officer shooting a black motorist shows the two men fought on the ground before the fatal shooting.
Grant Fredericks testified Tuesday that he stabilized the blurry cellphone video shot by a bystander to show that former officer Michael Slager and Walter Scott tussled on the ground before the April 2015 shooting.
Slager has said he shot Scott in self-defense after the 50-year-old Scott reached for his stun gun.
Fredericks also says he heard Slager tell Scott, “Let go of my Taser before I shoot you.” That audio came from a microphone on Slager’s uniform, not the bystander’s video.
Slager has been jailed since pleading guilty in May to violating Scott’s civil rights. He faces a possible life sentence.
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10:45 a.m.
Prosecutors have rested their sentencing case against a white former South Carolina officer facing federal prison time for the shooting death of an unarmed black man.
A judge this week is considering how much time Michael Slager should spend in prison. The officer has been in jail since pleading guilty in May to violating Walter Scott’s civil rights.
Prosecutors rested their case Tuesday. Slager’s attorneys called a forensic video analyst as their first witness.
On Monday, federal prosecutors put up three witnesses, including an FBI expert who analyzed a bystander’s video of the shooting. Agent Anthony Imel testified the video showed Slager’s stun gun was behind him on the ground as the officer shot Scott following an April 2015 traffic stop.
Slager has said he shot Scott in self-defense after Scott grabbed his stun gun.
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5:20 a.m.
The cellphone video of a white South Carolina officer shooting an unarmed black motorist as he ran away is again being scrutinized in court.
Except this time, the audience is a federal judge deciding how long the officer will spend in prison instead of a jury of 12 trying to decide if he’s guilty of murder.
The sentencing hearing for ex-officer Michael Slager continues Tuesday morning. It started a day earlier with his attorneys playing cellphone and dashcam video that showed the traffic stop and the shooting itself.
The 36-year-old former North Charleston police officer has been in jail since pleading guilty in May to violating Walter Scott’s civil rights.
Slager faces up to life in prison, but federal sentencing officials have recommended between 10 to nearly 13 years.
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