Two pieces of audio recorded in the immediate aftermath of a deadly police shooting in South Carolina emerged Monday.
The voice of Michael Slager can be heard in both. The former North Charleston police officer is charged with murder in the death of 50-year-old Walter Scott.
In the first recording, an unidentified officer talks to Slager about what might happen.
“Once they get here, it’ll be real quick. They’re gonna tell you, you’re gonna be off for a couple days and we’ll come back and interview you then. They’re not gonna ask you any type of questions right now. They’re gonna take your weapon,” the officer says. “It’d probably be a good idea to jot down your thoughts about whatever happened … once the adrenaline stops pumping.”
Slager responds: “It’s pumping,” and then laughs.
The second audio, taken from dash cam video from inside a patrol car, captures a phone call between Slager and someone CNN believes is his wife.
He tells her: “Hey. Hey, everything’s OK. OK? I just shot somebody.”
“He grabbed my Taser, yeah. Yeah,” says Slager. “He was running from me. … I’m fine.”
If convicted of murder, the former officer faces up to life in prison or the death penalty, although a death penalty case appears unlikely at this point.
“Based on the facts revealed thus far, it does not appear South Carolina’s death penalty provision applies in this case because there are no statutory ‘aggravating circumstances’ present,” Scarlett A. Wilson, who is the chief prosecutor for the Ninth Judicial Circuit in the state, said on her Facebook page.
Slager was charged after cell phone video emerged, showing him firing at Scott as the man ran away.
Pierre Fulton was riding in a car with Scott before the shooting took place.
“Walter was a dear friend and I miss him every day,” Fulton said in a statement given to ABC News by his lawyer. “Over the past five years he helped me to become a better man and showed me the value of hard work.”
“I’ll never know why he ran, but I know he didn’t deserve to die,” Fulton said. “Please keep Walter and his family in your prayers and respect my privacy moving forward.”
Scott’s death has reignited a national conversation around race and policing. Scott was black; Slager is white.
The case has also brought to light previous instances in which Slager’s behavior on the job is being questioned.
On Monday, attorneys for a man named Julius Wilson announced that they were filing a lawsuit in connection with an August 2014 traffic stop.
During the stop, three officers — including Slager — pulled Wilson out of his car. Wilson was then allegedly shocked with a stun gun. The suit claims Slager used excessive force.
Slager was also named in a police complaint in 2013 after he allegedly “Tased a man for no reason” before slamming him to the ground and dragging him, according to the North Charleston Police Department.
At the time, Slager was searching for a suspect who was described as being 5-feet-5-inches tall. The African-American man he confronted was 6-feet-3 inches tall.
A lawyer for Mario Givens, the man who filed the complaint, said last week that his client plans to file a lawsuit.
Givens said Slager came to his door, ordered him out of the house and then Tased him.
Slager was later cleared in that incident.
