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Dash cam footage released of traffic stop before fatal shooting

By Amy R. Connolly and Danielle Haynes

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C., April 9 (UPI) -- South Carolina officials released the dash cam footage from the police cruiser of former officer Michael Slager showing the traffic stop before the shooting death of Walter Scott.

The footage, released Thursday by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, shows the moments leading up, but not including, the fatal confrontation between the two men.

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North Charleston police officer Slager pulled Scott over for a faulty tail light Saturday. The two vehicles pulled into the parking lot of an auto parts store before Slager approached the driver's side window of the vehicle Scott was driving. The video shows there was also a passenger in Scott's vehicle.

Scott tells Slager he doesn't have insurance for the vehicle because, though he's planning to, he hasn't purchased it. Slager returns to his cruiser and shortly thereafter, Scott can be seen exiting his vehicle and running away from the scene.

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Slager runs after Scott, but the pursuant chase is not caught on camera until the incident is picked up by Feidin Santana, the 23-year-old whose footage of the shooting led to the officer's arrest for murder.

Santana said he almost erased the video out of fear for his safety.

The 23-year-old said he immediately understood the magnitude of his cellphone video showing Slager fatally shooting Scott as Scott was running away.

"I felt that my life, with this information, might be in danger. I thought about erasing the video and just getting out of the community, you know Charleston, and living some place else," Santana said in an interview on MSNBC's "All In With Chris Hayes" Wednesday. "I knew the cop didn't do the right thing."

Santana said he witnessed a struggle between Scott and Slager before the shooting, but the officer did not appear to be in danger when he opened fire as Scott was running away. Slager told investigators Scott took his Taser and he feared for his life. Santana said he never saw Scott grab for the officer's Taser.

"Before I started recording, they were down on the floor. I remember the police [officer] had control of the situation," Santana said. "He had control of Scott. And Scott was trying just to get away from the Taser. But like I said, he never used the Taser against the cop."

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"As you can see in the video, the police officer just shot him in the back," Santana said. "I knew right away, I had something on my hands."

Investigators said Scott, 50, was pulled over for a broken taillight and fled for unknown reasons, which led to a foot chase. Santana said he was walking to work when he saw the incident unfold. The video shows a short struggle between Slager and Scott before Scott starts running and Slager opens fire. It also shows a dark object dropped right before the shooting. Moments later, Slager is seen dropping a dark object near Scott's body.

The shooting has reignited national scrutiny of law enforcement's use of excessive force, particularly for African-American suspects. Federal and state officials have launched investigations into the shooting. Slager was charged with murder.

Meanwhile, a lawyer for Scott's family said Thursday the family intends to file a federal lawsuit against the North Charleston Police Department.

Family attorney Chris Stewart told the Charleston Post and Courier Scott's civil rights were violated when he was shot by Slager. He said the family is awaiting the results of the investigation to decide whether the wrongful death lawsuit will include a racial component.

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