CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Latest on the trial of a former South Carolina police officer charged with murder in the shooting death of an unarmed black motorist (all times local):
12:20 p.m.
An expert is testifying that there was no DNA from a former white police officer found under the fingernails of a black South Carolina motorist who was fatally shot while fleeing a traffic stop.
Samuel Stewart of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division testified Thursday during the murder trial of fired North Charleston patrolman Michael Slager, who was videotaped shooting Walter Scott.
The defense contends the two men struggled over Slager's stun gun before fleeing the scene. But Stewart testified that DNA from the dead man's fingernails contained none of Slager's DNA.
An analysis of the Taser was less conclusive. Stewart testified that there was a mixture of the DNA of two individuals on the weapon and that DNA from both Slager and Scott could not be ruled out.
Stewart said blood stains on Slager's uniform shirt and pants also were analyzed. He testified that the blood contained Slager's own DNA, and that while there was another person's DNA, there was not enough of it to analyze its source.
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10:20 a.m.
A state crime scene investigator says there was nothing nefarious about officers swabbing a Taser for DNA but not taking fingerprints from the stun gun an officer used before shooting an unarmed black motorist who was running away.
Almon Brown, who works for the State Law Enforcement Division, testified at the murder trial of fired North Charleston officer Michael Slager on Thursday that the weapon was processed according to lab protocol. Brown, who combed the scene for evidence following the April 2015 shooting death of Walter Scott, says there is no doubt from the evidence that there was a struggle between Scott and Slager.
The defense earlier questioned Brown about why no fingerprints were taken from the officer's Taser, which the defense contends Scott got control of before the shooting.
A dramatic cellphone video seen worldwide shows Scott running away without the spent Taser and falling to the ground dozens of feet away from Slager after being shot five times in the back.
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3:20 a.m.
The prosecution is calling witnesses for a sixth day in the murder trial of a former South Carolina police officer charged in the death of a black motorist.
Former North Charleston patrolman Michael Slager is charged in the shooting of 50-year-old Walter Scott as he ran from a traffic stop in April 2015. Cellphone video that captured Scott being shot in the back stunned the nation.
As testimony begins Thursday, the prosecution has called 23 witnesses to lay out its case that although Slager may have been provoked by Scott running away, there was no justification for shooting him five times.
The defense has countered that the investigation was botched. Defense attorney Andy Savage noted Wednesday that people using a toy metal detector found bullets at the scene missed by state investigators.
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