A petition opposing the early release of a former South Carolina police officer who fatally shot Walter Scott in the back five times following a traffic stop in 2015 has garnered 7,000 signatures following recent news that the man has been approved for a transfer to a halfway house in Ocala.
According to updates received by the family of the victim, Walter Scott, through the Department of Justice’s Victim Notification System, Michael Slager is scheduled to be released early to an Ocala-based Community Corrections Center on October 27, 2027.
The scheduled transfer stems from a 2015 incident in North Charleston, South Carolina, where Slager fatally shot Scott following a routine traffic stop for a non-functioning brake light. Scott was 50 years old at the time of his death.
While Slager initially claimed he fired his weapon in self-defense after Scott allegedly grabbed his stun gun, a bystander’s cellphone video contradicted the officer’s report. The footage revealed that Slager shot the unarmed Scott in the back as he fled and subsequently attempted to cover up the crime by dropping his Taser near the body…