A new recording obtained by the Guardian shows that South Carolina police officer Michael Slager was laughing with a senior officer minutes after shooting Walter Scott. Slager, who is being charged with murder, laughed as he told the other officer that his adrenaline was “pumping.”
South Carolina’s Law Enforcement Division hasn’t disputed the authenticity of the recording, which the Guardian’s Jon Swaine published this morning. In it, the officer believed to be Slager chats casually with the senior officer, who hasn’t been identified. Here’s a transcript:
Slager: What happens next?
Senior Officer: Well, [inaudible] here, I’m sure that’ll be out of the way. We’ll get you up to headquarters, uh, we’ll get you up there, we’ll probably once we get you there we’ll take all your equipment, take your crap off, take your vest off, kinda relax for two or three. [Indistinct] Once they get here, it’ll be real quick. They’re gonna tell you you’re going to be off for a couple days, and we’ll come back and interview you then. They’re not going to ask you any questions right now. They’re going to take your weapon and we’ll go from there. That’s pretty much it.
The last one we had, they waited a couple days to interview, an official interview, like say what happened. Probably when you get home, it’d probably be a good idea to kinda jot down your thoughts or what happened.
Slager: OK.
Senior officer: Once the adrenaline quits pumping.
Slager: It’s pumping. [Laughs]
Senior officer: Oh yeah. Oh yeah.
Slager: [Indistinct]
Slager claims he pulled Scott over because his brake light was not working. When Scott fled his vehicle, the video shows Slager shooting at him eight times, hitting him four times in the back and once in the ear. If convicted, he faces life in prison or the death penalty.
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