U.S. | Wed Nov 2, 2016 | 2:14pm EDT

Jury set in trial of cop who shot South Carolina black man

By Harriet McLeod | CHARLESTON, S.C.

A jury of 11 whites and one black was selected on Wednesday for the trial of Michael Slager, a white former North Charleston police officer accused of murder in the shooting death of unarmed black motorist Walter Scott last year.

Slager, 34, was arrested and charged with murder in April 2015 after a bystander's cellphone video emerged showing him firing eight times at the back of Scott, 50, who was fleeing.

The video reignited a national debate over police use of deadly force against black men in America and the dangers of working as a law-enforcement officer in a heavily armed country.

Defense attorneys will say Slager felt threatened when Scott grabbed the officer's stun gun after a struggle and pointed it at the officer.

Six white men, five white women and one black man were chosen to hear evidence and render a verdict in the case. The alternates are two white men, two white women and two black women. The group was selected by lawyers from about 180 potential jurors who reported for jury duty on Monday.

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