Spokesman confirms release of former police officer

The former police officer who shot and killed Walter Scott is out of jail tonight. Slager will have to remain in SC while out on bail. Slager was released on a $500,000 bond.

Walter Scott, left, was shot to death by police officer Michael Slager (right) on Saturday, April 4, 2015 in North Charleston, South Carolina.

The National Action Network will be holding a press conference Tuesday morning outside the jail in response to Slager’s release.

Former North Charleston Police officer Michael Slager talks with his attorney Andy Savage before a hearing in front of Judge Clifton Newman in Charleston, S.C., Monday, Jan. 4, 2016.

Slager was indicted by a grand jury in the killing of Walter Scott due in large part to a graphic video that showed Slager shooting the 50-year-old – who he was attempting to pull over in a traffic stop last April – and dropping an item that looked like a Taser next to the man’s body.

Officials say the former police officer charged with murder in the death of an unarmed driver running from a traffic stop has been released from a SC jail.

The release of Michael Slager on bond Monday was a disappointment to the family of the victim, Walter Scott, said Justin Bamberg, the attorney for the family.

A bystander recorded the shooting on a cellphone, and Slager, 34, was sacked from the police force and charged with murder.

Meanwhile, Slager’s pretrial confinement could affect a sort of punishment on the former officer even while he is presumed innocent, the judge said.

An attorney for the family of a slain SC motorist is urging the Charleston community to remain calm after a judge set bond for the ex-police officer charged with killing the man.

The prospect of months more behind bars prompted Newman to reconsider his decision denying bail in September, when he labeled Slager a danger to the community and a flight risk. Slager’s trial is scheduled for October 31, nearly a full year-and-a-half after he was arrested and charged, in order to accommodate the trial of Dylann Roof in June for the mass shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. There is also no one who can constantly monitor Slager’s whereabouts after his release “who we can trust”, she said. A spokesman for the sheriff’s office said late Monday a jail employee mistakenly posted that Slager had bonded out of jail. Ninth Circuit Solicitor Scarlett Wilson is the lead prosecutor in both cases. Because of a state Supreme Court order, Wilson said she can not try other cases before Roof’s. Wilson has said the death penalty doesn’t apply because there are no aggravating circumstances such as robbery or kidnapping. Savage also says Slager has an existing medical condition involving gluten that is causing him problems while incarcerated.