S.C. Cop From South Jersey, Charged With Shooting Unarmed Man In Back, Was Warned About Decision-Making

Amid otherwise glowing reviews from his time as a cop in South Carolina, the South Jersey native charged with murder for shooting a fleeing black man in the back was warned about his decision making in his 2013 job evaluation.

The case has stirred national outrage and has drawn more attention to police officer brutality, particularly against black men.

Michael Slager, 33, was told he must “continue to improve on assessing a situation and determining a solution with the consequences of his actions in mind,” according to one of a series of job evaluations obtained by Patch through a Freedom of Information Act request to the City of North Charleston, S.C.

A year later, his 2014 evaluation included the following: “Slager USUALLY anticipates consequences of his decisions.”

That statement from his most recent evaluation falls in line with the tone of much of the rest of his evaluations over his nearly six-year career with the department, which often included praise such as “he uses good judgement in non-routine situations,” “he consistently observes safety rules and regulations” and “shows substantial concern for the safety of co-workers.”

Slager is charged with murder in the shooting death of 50-year-old Walter Scott, of North Charleston. Scott was apparently unarmed and attempting to run away following a traffic stop for a broken tail light on Saturday, April 4.

In a video that surfaced earlier this week, Slager is shown shooting Scott in the back between five and eight times as Scott was running away.

>>Related: VIDEO: South Jersey Native, Now A South Carolina Cop, Accused of Shooting Unarmed Man in Back

According to his police radio report, Slager claims Scott took his taser, but the video shows Slager placing the taser next to Scott’s body after he shot him.

Scott was fired from the police department after the incident.

Slager, a 2001 graduate of Lenape High School and former Medford resident, was also advised to take additional training courses on conducting interviews, but he generally received a good evaluation.

He received an overall rating of 3.37, and was praised for his knowledge, initiative, enthusiasm, making good decisions, showing initiative and being concerned for the safety of his co-workers, among other impressive marks.

He was employed with the North Charleston Police Department for about six years and received a raise earlier this year.

After his most recent job performance, he received a raise of about $2,000, and was making $42,270 as of Jan. 20.

He was hired by the North Charleston Police Department effective Dec. 7, 2009, at a pay rate of $33,564.

He was praised for his abilities right from the start.

“He demonstrates his knowledge of the skills, procedures, codes and safety regulations needed to perform his job,” according to his 2010 evaluation. ”He understands how his job performance effects the overall mission of uniform patrol and the department. He works well with other officers and is always willing to assist other officers.”

Other praise included the following statements:

• his work is usually mistake and error free;
• he usually does work that meets standards and goals;
• he meets deadlines;
• he does not have to be watched over;
• he does reliable work;
• he never has an unexcused absence;
• he always notifies his supervisors if he will be late for work;
• he accepts instruction and direction, only questioning with good cause;
• he shows a willingness to do unpleasant tasks;
• he took the initiative to check the community blog monthly to assure all team members have entered in status reports into the system; and
• training younger officers on his squad in gaining confidence in DUI investigations.

Over the years, he was praised for his work in specific incidents, including:

• his work in providing a description for a suspect in an armed robbery at a local bar, leading to his arrest;
• extra research on suspects in a suspicious persons incident that led to an arrest in a murder case;
• using his taser within department guidelines to capture a suspect in a case involving a stolen moped;
• capturing a burglary suspect in a pursuit following a routine traffic stop;
• working with other officers to arrest a man who allegedly stole steel tent pipes from a home; and
• obtaining a recorded confession from a suspect in a murder case.

Slager’s birth certificate shows he was born in Atlantic City.

After graduating from Lenape High School, Slager worked as a waiter at the now-closed Ventura’s Restaurant in Voorhees for an unspecified period of time before he joined the Coast Guard in 2003.

In the Coast Guard, he was a mechanical boarding team member, and described his duties as enforcing federal laws and treaties and port security.

Additional records show he was married to a Wisconsin native. The two of them were reportedly living in Hanahan, S.C.