CHARLESTON, S.C., Nov. 1 (UPI) — Defense attorneys for embattled ex-South Carolina police officer Michael Slager on Tuesday appealed to a trial judge to exclude video of motorist Walter Scott‘s shooting because it would mislead jurors.
Attorneys are still trying to finalize a jury to hear the murder case against Slager, who shot Scott to death after a traffic stop in April 2015 during a confrontation that triggered a national outcry.
Slager’s defense made the request in a court filing Tuesday, which claims the cellphone video, taken by a witness, is “unreliable, technically inadequate, limited in scope, and extremely unrepresentative of the events at issue.”
The video depicts Slager, 34, a former North Charleston Police officer, pull his gun and fire at Scott as he attempted to run away from his vehicle. The injuries Scott sustained in the event were fatal.
Slager’s defense, though, argues that what is seen in the video doesn’t accurately portray the officer’s point of view in that situation. Slager has said he shot Scott because he feared for his safety.
“It fails to clearly show the significant acts leading up to the fatal shooting, because it is out of focus for a substantial portion of the relevant events, and because it does not adequately reflect the positioning and distances between the actors,” the filing states.
Attorneys expect to swear-in the jurors on Wednesday and the start of the trial on Thursday. Tuesday’s was the first public proceeding of the trial.
