On May 2, Michael Slager, the former Charleston, S.C., officer who fatally shot Walter Scott, a black man who was running away from him, will plead guilty in federal court, reports Reuters. As part of the agreement, prosecutors of the state will abandon a murder charge brought against him.
The civil rights case of Slager's involvement in Scott's death was slated to go to trial later this month. Slager faces several charges in the death of Walter Scott, including lying to fellow law enforcement officers about details of the incident. Moments following Walter Scott’s death were captured on video, and in the video Slager places an object besides Scott’s body — suspected to be his Taser, which would go against Slager’s account that Scott took his Taser.
A date for Slager's sentencing has yet to be set. The maximum sentence Slager could receive for his guilty plea is life in prison. In Dec. 2016, Michael Slager’s murder trial for the death of Walter Scott went to mistrial, but it was slated to be retried in August.
"We hope that Michael's acceptance of responsibility will help the Scott family as they continue to grieve their loss," wrote Slager's attorney Andrew Savage.
Reuters reporting contributed to this story.
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