he says that before the cameras were rolling that he was in an altercation with walter scott. there was a scuffle. he claims that walter scott took his taser from him and aimed it back at him and that the gun fire that you see in that video was essentially his response to that. the prosecution jumped on that. they went second by second, frame by frame, in excruciating detail over that video with walter scott's family in the courtroom. and they were asking michael slager all kinds of questions about where he was looking, how he was shifting his weight, and, again, and again, they asked him how could walter scott have been a threat to his life if he had been trying to get away. here is some of that exchange. >> would you agree that even if mr. scott had that taser it could not have been used against you at the distance depicted on that video? >> at that time i didn't have that information. so i -- i can't answer that question. >> you've seen the video. >> i have. >> and you've heard that he was 18 feet away. would you agree that he was not a threat to you with that taser, withou

take out his gun and to fire that many shots at walter scott's back. it was murder. >> sedgwick, from a law enforcement perspective, what is your -- do you agree, you know, that mark o'mara is saying it was murder. what is your biggest concern about how the office handled it? >> let me say this i think mark is right on point. don, i've been in this business a very long time and seen a lot of various types of situations such as this, and it's very clear, clearly there were some things that occurred before the video footage took place, but a video footage in and of itself i think is very point blank clear as to what occurred and shots being fired of the victim in this case running away from the officer. what is that immediate threat that he keeps referring to, and he's going to have to have a challenging time trying to convince a jury of that being the case, but here again we're talking about police officers who do a very exceptional type of job, and it was the threat that he says that he experienced, and that's what he's going to have to convince this j

slager is charged in the footing death of walter scott. slager told the jury that scott called his stun gun and that he feared for his life. he said he fired until it was over. cell phone video shows scott running away from slager when he was shot. closing arguments are expected today. >>> betsy shelby will face trial in the shooting death of terence crutch crutcher. shelby is accused of shooting and killing crutch here was unarmed during a traffic stop in september. >>> it is decision day for democrats in the house of representatives. members are set to vote on their incoming leadership for the new congress. ohio congressman tim ryan is challenging longtime democratic leader nancy pelosi. representative ryan said it's time for new blood and fresh ideas. pelosi, though, is expected to retain her position as leader. >>> martin scorsese is expected to meet with pope francis for an audience of 400 priests in rome. it's a longtime goal of scorsese. "silence" will open in december. >> finally, he'll make new movies. >>> mitt romney calls his di

is gone, but now we need justice for walter. >> reporter: anthony scott, walter's older brother, told us the video proves slager killed in cold blood what goes through your head and heart when you >> to me, it's a man being shot in the back by a coward police officer. >> reporter: the court also heard from judy scott, walter's mother. scott, she testified that she was on the phone with him during the traffic stop and heard him groaning in pain, apparently from being tased. >> pelley: mark strassmann for us in charleston. mark, thank you very much. and we'll be right back. but your immune system weakens as you get older i've been lurking inside you since you had chickenpox. i could surface anytime as a painful, blistering rash. one in three people get me in their lifetime, linda. will it be you? and that's why linda got me zostavax, a single shot vaccine. i'm working to boost linda's immune system to help protect her against you, shingles. zostavax is a vaccine used to prevent shingles in adults fifty years of age and older. ot be used to treat shingles or the nerve pain that may follo

(sot - prosecutor - 115443) did you see walter scott coming at officer slager? (sot - santana the defense- grilling santana on why he waited to turn the video in to investigators questioning whether he's biased against police.- (sot - defense) 'those who must defend us are the worst criminals. who can i trust, tell me?' those are your words. (sot robin sax - legal analyst) undermine the person taking it, try to show there is some sort of ulterior motive // if you can't fight the video tape certainly fight next -- we're learning more -- about that deadly bus accident in baltimore. the family of the school bus driver -- is speaking out. they say -- he never should've been behind the wheel -- in the first place. plus -- investigators at first -- blaming tesla's autopilot crash. but the company says -- that is not possible. you're watching 13-action news -- where you get breaking news -- fast and first. nearly 2-hundred firefighters -- battled the blaze -- in the little village neighborhood -- on the city's southwest side. investigators say -- homeless people -- try

. >> reporter: walter scott's family arrived at the charleston county courthouse looking grim. they've waited 19 months for the day michael slager, scott's killer, begins to confront a possible life sentence. prosecutor scarlett wilson: >> what michael slager did toas walter scott was wrong.t- it was flat-out wrong. >> reporter: it was an everyday traffic stop last april. >> your license and insurance card. >> reporter: slager pulled overa slager chased him. moments later, in this cellde phone video recorded by ae passerby, the white officer shoi the fleeing black suspect five times in the back. one bullet entered scott's heart.se >> the charge in this case is murder.ep >> reporter: slager's jury, 11la of them white, one black, will-f hear his claim of self-defense. the 34-year-old former officer says he and scott fought over the cop's stun gun moments before this cene defense attorney andy savage: >> he physically and forcefully resisted, to the extent that they were both fighting on the ground. >> walter is gone, but now we need justice for walter.ep >> reporter: anthony scot

he is charged with murder of walter scott who was running away unarmed. slager testified in his own defense and boris has been following this. what have you learned, boris? >> some very emotional and uncomfortable moments in court as michael slager took the stand in his own defense. the prosecution grilling him and showing that infamous video with walter scott. the prosecution going frame by frame second by second in excruciating detail asking michael slager about where he was looking at certain points in the video and how he was moving his feet and shifting his weight and then repeatedly asking him how walter scott could have been a threat to his life if he was so far away, trying to run away. here's a bit of that exchange between slager and the prosecution. >> you've seen the video. >> i have. >> and you heard that he was 18 feet away. would you agree that he was not a threat to you with that taser without a cartridge from that distance? >> no. >> okay. so you're going to stick to that? >> yes, the reason is, from 18 feet, he could have turned around an

on tuesday, a former police officer took the stand in his walter scott, an unarmed african-american man in april of last year. gabe gutierrez has the details. >> reporter: this bystander's dramatic cell phone video appears to show walter scott shot in the back multiple times. in a charleston, south carolina courtroom the former officer accused of scott's murder gave his first detailed public account of what happened. >> i >> reporter: mikal slager says he pulled scott over for a broken taillight in april, 2015 and was preparing to give him a warning but scott bolted from his car. >> it was in my mind that people don't want to see that. >> prosecutors say he fled because he was behind on child payments and he hit him three scott didn't stop. >> reporter: the cell phone video he says picks up the encounter seconds later as scott breaks away from the struggle t. prosecutor pressed him why he moved the taser closer to his body? >> you don't leave a weapon in a field like that. >> reporter: he says in hindsight he wouldn't claims on foot and called for backup. >> his entire testimony was wha

the officer who shot walter scott in south carolina. >>> good evening. and it's great to have you with us here on a tuesday night. and we begin here with the stunning images coming in from tennessee. several major fires fueled by 60-mile-per-hour winds, and we have just learned tonight that the fires are now turned deadly. it is hard to grasp the true scope of this disaster, just look through the windshield of this car, surrounded by flames there on both sides of the road. so many tonight. an entire city evacuated. the flames creeping towards a cabin. a surveillance camera capturing it all. and tennessee state troopers guiding families away from their homes through the thick smoke and fallen trees. abc's linzie janis leading us off from tennessee tonight. >> hit the gas! hit the gas! >> reporter: tonight, the race to escape the flames. >> go, go, go, go, go! >> reporter: embers flying over the windshield. >> that [ bleep ] going to melt these tires in a heartbeat. riding shotgun as he and another man drove through the massive fire in the great smoky moun

the victim who died, walter scott, his mother on the stand today. abc's steve osunsami is at the courthouse. >> somebody is running from you, you don't shoot them in the back. >> reporter: it isn't just this former police officer who's on trial here in charleston tonight. so is policework in this country, and the trust black americans have in the system. should see this disturbing cell phone video. >> not all awful things in this community are unlawful. >> reporter: they're saying those eight shots, five in the back, were lawful, because they say slager and 50-year-old walter scott, fought to the ground before the gunfire. but no struggle is ever seen in the cell phone video or on the dash cam video from slager's police car played in court. >> the reason for the stop is, your third brake light is out. >> reporter: jurors saw the routine traffic stop, and saw scott running, worried about unpaid child support. and says he called her during the stop. >> all i heard was, get on the ground, and put your hands behind your back. >> reporter: the prosecutor

but now we need justice for walter. >> reporter: anthony scott, walter's older brother, told us the video proves slager killed in cold blood. >> what goes through your head and heart when you watch the video now? >> to me it's a man being shot in the back officer. >> reporter: the court also heard from judy scott, walter's mother. scott, she testified she was on the phone with him during the traffic stop and heard him groening in pain, apparently from being tased. >> marc strassmann for us in charleston. marc, thank you very much. sometimes we use k-y ultragel to enhance my body's natural moisture so i can get into it a bit quicker. and when i know she's into it, i get into it and... feel the difference with k-y ultragel. ? gaviscon is a proven heartburn remedy that gives you fast-acting, long-lasting relief. it immediately neutralizes acid and only gaviscon helps keep acid down for hours. for fast-acting, long-lasting relief, mmended gaviscon. >>> 90% of american kids eat far too much salt, according to a new federal study which says those kids are at risk for high blood pressure and hea

and then asking him repeatedly how walter scott could have been a threat to his life if he was trying to get away from him unarmed. i want you to listen to some of the exchange between him and the prosecution. >> you've seen the video and you've heard that he was 18 feet away. would you agree that he was not a threat to you without a taser without a cartridge from that distance. >> no. >> okay. so you're going to stick to that? >> yes. and the reason is, from 18 feet he could have turned around and attacked me again. >> and that led to a tense moment in court. the prosecution actually handing michael slager a tape measure, the prosecutor walking 18 feet away, the distance between slager and scott when slager opened fire. the prosecutor holding the tape behind him, turning around and again asking michael slager how walter scott was a threat to his life from that position. and his defense later said that his brain was spaghetti. before the video started rolling they had had a scuffle and walter scott apparently got a hold of his taser and was threatening him with it. he said he simply r

the man killed, walter scott, his mother on the stand. >>> the plane crash. the chopper overhead, capturing it all. >> clear the building! >> the incredible moment that comes next. >>> and your money tonight. a new warning. if you've ever bought a gift >>> good evening on this thursday night. and we are rounding the bend, the home stretch of this presidential race. new polls just in tonight, a very tight race. and this evening, even in the red state of georgia, trump and clinton neck and neck. and tonight, melania trump, her first appearance on her own, what she revealed she would fight for as first lady. donald trump tweeting from his plane, he's there on the left, watching his wife and that speech on the big screen. and tonight, the clinton team revealing they're moment like this one just hours before americans go to the polls next week. and take a look tonight. our new tracking poll. clinton at 47%, trump at 45%. we begin with abc's tom llamas. >> reporter: tonight, donald trump sounding like victory is within his grasp. >> i'll tell you, we are going to r

did you shoot walter scott? >> i did. >> michael slager's voice cracked at times as he described the events that led to the death of walter scott 19 months ago. >> it is the only thing i could see. is that taser coming at me. i see that barrel, like this big, coming at me. >> reporter: a day that began with this routine traffic stop. and ended after a chase and scuffle in a burst of gunfire. it was captured on cell phone >> reporter: slager's argument is self defense. >> i was in a fight on the ground. mr. scott was coming after me with the taser twice. in my mind, my mind was like spaghetti. >> reporter: prosecutor bruce durant. >> from watching the video, sir, do you concede at the time that you shot mr. scott he did not have your taser? >> yes, after learning information now, i do. >> reporter: one of the lingering qu slager may have picked up and dropped near scott's body. >> i don't remember dropping the taser. i don't remember anything. >> you have a pretty clear recollection of what went on here. seems li

for killing walter scott... back in april 2015. slager's attorney contends... there was more to the incident than what appeared on the widely seen video of the shooting... including a fight between the pair and a tussle over the officer's taser. after two days of jury selection 75 potential jurors. the circuit judge says the jury will be seated today. if convicted slager, faces 30 years to life. and in ohio -- testimony is set to begin in the murder trial of a police officer who shot a man during a traffic stop in 2015. ray tensing shot and killed sam dubose, who was pulled over for a missing license plate. tensing says he feared for his life after he claims he was almost run over. expert witnesses are expected to talk about ofic after the prosecution and defense offered conflicting interpretations about what it will tell jurors about the case. bill cosby is expected back in court today for day two of a pre-trial hearing. cosby faces three felony charges in pennsylvania stemming from an incident involving an employee at temple university. his lawyers are trying

. >> reporter: walter scott's county courthouse looking grim. they've waited 19 months for the day michael slager, scott's killer, begins to confront a possible life sentence. prosecutor scarlet wilson. >> what michael slager did to walter scott was wrong. it was flag out wrong. >> reporter: it was an everyday traffic stop last april. >> your license and registration, sir. >> reporter: slager pulled over scott for a broken taillight. scott suddenly ran. moments later, in this cell phone video recorded by a passerby, the white officer shot the fleeing black suspect five times in the back. one bullet entered scott's heart. >> the charge in this case is murder. >> reporter: slager's jury, 11 of them white, one black, will hear his claim of self-defense. the 34-year-old former officer says he and scott fought over the cop's stun gun moments began. defense attorney andy savage. >> he physically and forcefully resisted to the extent that they were both fighting on the ground. >> walter's gone. but now we need justice for walter. >> reporter: anthony s

he is charged with murdering walter scott, a man he had just pulled over for a broken tail >> reporter: michael slager's voice cracked at times as he described the events that led up to the death of walter scott 19 months ago. >> reporter: a day that gab with this routine traffic stop. >> your license and insurance card. >> reporter: and ended after a as gunfire. it was captured on cell phone video by someone passing by. >> i was tired. >> reporter: slager's argument is self-defense. >> i was on the fight, on the ground. mr. scott was coming after me with the taser twice. you know, my mind-- i don't-- my mind was like spaghetti. >> reporter: prosecutor bruce dur ant. >> from watching the video, sir, do you concede at the time you shot mr. scott he did not have your taser? >> yes, after learning information now, i do. lingering questions is what slager may have picked up and dropped near scott's body. >> i don't remember dropping the taser. i don't remember anything. >> well, you have a pretty clear recollection of what went on here. it seems like you're just not remembering the things