Family of Walter Scott reaches $6.5 million settlement with North Charleston

(Image credit: Twitter.com/WLTX)

The city of North Charleston, South Carolina, has reached a $6.5 million settlement with the family of Walter Scott, a black man who was shot and killed by a white police officer in April.

The settlement was approved Thursday by the city council, USA Today reports. A bystander captured on video Officer Michael Slager allegedly shooting Scott, 50, in the back as he ran away after being pulled over in his car. Scott died at the scene, and Slager was arrested and charged with murder after the footage was released. North Charleston Mayor R. Keith Summey said that since the shooting, police officers have been outfitted with body cameras. "As a result of this tragedy, important issues have been discussed not only in North Charleston, but around the country," Summey said. "Citizens have become engaged in the process and government officials are listening."

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.