Cop Laughed About His Adrenaline Rush After Shooting Walter Scott
According to a police recording obtained by the Guardian, North Charleston police officer Michael Slager laughed and talked about his "adrenaline pumping" immediately after shooting Walter Scott last Saturday.
During the recorded conversation, a senior police officer briefs Slager on department protocols for a police shooting, which Slager acknowledges with a laugh. Via the Guardian:
“Probably once they get you there, we’ll take you home. Take your crap off, take your vest off, kind of relax for two or three.”
“It’ll be real quick,” he said. “They’re gonna tell you you’re gonna be out for a couple of days and you’ll come back and they’ll interview you then. They’re not going to ask you any kind of questions right now. They’ll take your weapon and we’ll go from there. That’s pretty much it.”
The senior officer again reassured Slager that he would not have to explain the shooting on the record immediately. “The last one we had, they waited a couple of days to interview officially, like, sit down and tell what happened,” he said.
“By the time you get home, it would probably be a good idea to kind of jot down your thoughts on what happened,” the senior officer said. “You know, once the adrenaline quits pumping.”
“It’s pumping,” Slager said, laughing. The senior officer replied: “Oh yeah. Oh yeah.”
Slager can also be heard on the recording answering a ringing cell phone before telling the caller, “He grabbed my taser, yeah. Yeah, he was running from me.”
Bystander video of the incident appears to show Slager plant the taser near Scott's body after the shooting.
Slager is now facing murder charges.
