CHARLESTON, S.C. – A state judge has approved bail for a former South Carolina police officer charged with killing an unarmed black motorist.
Circuit Judge Clifton Newman in Charleston on Monday allowed a $500,000 surety bond for Michael Slager. Newman also set an Oct. 31 trial date.
Attorneys for Slager, who is white and charged with murder in the shooting death of Walter Scott last April, had said they would be ready for trial this spring.
Prosecutor Scarlett Wilson is also prosecuting Dylann Roof in the Charleston AME church shootings in a July trial and said a state Supreme Court order protects her from trying other cases before that one.
Slager, a former North Charleston police officer, is shown on cellphone video firing eight times as Scott ran from a traffic stop.
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