Multiple media outlets report that former North Charleston police officer Michael Slager is expected to plead guilty this afternoon in connection with a federal civil rights prosecution.
The plea from Michael Slager, 35, comes on the eve of his trial stemming from the April 2015 shooting.
It remains unclear to what charges Slager will plead. In federal court, sentencing is seldom is handed down on the same day as a plea. Instead, probation agents will prepare a presentencing report in the coming weeks, and a judge will hand out a penalty later.
Slager could face up to life in prison if convicted of the most serious count against him: violating rights under the color of law. He also is charged with lying to investigators and using a firearm in a violent crime.
Slager has maintained that he shot Scott, 50, a black man, in self-defense after Scott took his Taser. But the federal indictment alleges that Slager used excessive force when he opened fire. The officer pulled over Scott’s car because of a broken brake light on April 4, 2015, and Scott ran. Slager said Scott grabbed the stun gun during a fight.
The video, filmed by eyewitness Feidin Santana, showed Scott turning around and running as Slager pulled his .45-caliber pistol and started shooting. Five of the eight bullets hit Scott, who later died.