*After the jury said they were deadlocked in the trial of the South Carolina police officer who fatally shot Walter Scott last year as he was running away, the judge on Monday declared a mistrial in the case.
The jury of 11 white people and one black person was unable to reach a unanimous decision on the murder and manslaughter charges against former officer Michael Slager, who was accused of shooting 50-year-old Scott to death in North Charleston after stopping him for a broken taillight.
The jury’s decision hung on the opinion of a single juror who, on Friday, indicated in a note to the Judge Clifton Newman, that they could not “with good conscience consider a guilty verdict.”
Although Slager is white and Scott was black, race was never made a major issue at trial, according to reports. Cellphone video of the shooting taken by a bystander, however, sparked national outrage as part of the nation’s overall rash of unarmed African Americans being fatally shot by police.
The mistrial means prosecutors will now have to decide whether to retry the case.
Slager has also been indicted on federal charges that he violated Scott’s civil rights and could still face life in prison.
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