South Carolina Officer Michael T. Slager Charged With Murder of 50 Year Old Walter L. Scott (VIDEO)

White South Carolina police officer charged with the murder of black man …

33 year old police officer, Michael T. Slager, has been charged with murder of 50 year old Walter L. Scott after  a video surfaced Tuesday of the officer shooting the unarmed black man as he tried to run away. The incident occurred in North Charleston, SC this past Saturday after a motor vehicle traffic stop. Officer Slager pulled Scott over, who was driving a Mercedes-Benz with a broken taillight. According to the police reports, Scott ran away following the stop. The VIDEO below shows officer Slager firing 8 shots at Scott as he tried to run away. At issue is the VIDEO shows a much different story than the police report that was filed.  The FBI opened a civil rights investigation Tuesday after video surfaced.

 A white police officer in North Charleston, S.C., was charged with murder on Tuesday after a video surfaced showing him shooting in the back and killing an apparently unarmed black man while the man ran away.

The officer, Michael T. Slager, 33, said he had feared for his life because the man had taken his stun gun in a scuffle after a traffic stop on Saturday. A video, however, shows the officer firing eight times as the man, Walter L. Scott, 50, fled. The North Charleston mayor announced the state charges at a news conference Tuesday evening.

North Charleston officer faces murder charge after video shows him shooting man in back. 

The U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement that FBI investigators would work with the State Law Enforcement Division, which typically investigates officer-involved shootings in South Carolina, and the state’s attorney general to investigate any civil rights violations in Scott’s death. North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey said during a news conference that Slager had made a “bad decision.”

“When you’re wrong, you’re wrong,” Summey said. “If you make a bad decision, don’t care if you’re behind the shield or just a citizen on the street, you have to live by that decision.”

The 9th Circuit Solicitor’s Office will prosecute the felony murder charge. If convicted, Slager would face a penalty of 30 years to life in prison.

Full video can be seen below.