North Charleston police officer Michael Slager. REUTERS/Charleston County Sheriff's Office/Handout Video taken by a bystander appears to show a white South Carolina police officer firing eight shots at a black man who was running away.

But before the footage surfaced, the officer gave a seemingly contradictory account of the shooting.

Michael Slager, 33, said through his attorney, who has since resigned, that he had pulled over a Mercedes-Benz with a broken brake light Saturday about 9:30 a.m. in North Charleston, The Post and Courier reported.

The driver, Walter Scott, 50, then fled on foot, according to Slager's account.

After reaching the Mega Pawn shop, at 5654 Rivers Ave., Slager announced on the police radio that he "deployed" his Taser but it didn't work, according to a police report cited by the Courier. Slager's former lawyer, David Aylor, did not say in a statement whether his client had fired the Taser.

A struggle ensued, according Slager's account, and Scott tried to grab the Taser. Slager radioed the department to say that Scott had gotten ahold of the device, according to the police report cited by the Courier. Slager then "felt threatened" and fired his gun, according to the police officer's account.

The video, however, shows that Scott had turned and run away from Slager before the officer fired his weapon eight times. It is not clear from the video whether Scott ever had control of the Taser.

Aylor withdrew his counsel as soon as he saw the video, according to an exclusive interview with The Daily Beast.

Watch the video below:

As Scott turned to run from Slager in the video, what appeared to be wires, most likely to a Taser, extended from Scott's body to the officer.

As The New York Times describes the video:

Something — it is not clear whether it is the stun gun — is either tossed or knocked to the ground behind the two men, and Officer Slager draws his gun, the video shows. When the officer fires, Mr. Scott appears to be 15 to 20 feet away and fleeing. He falls after the last of eight shots.

A lawyer for Scott's family said the coroner told him that Scott was hit with five bullets — three in the back, one in the buttocks, and one in an ear, according to The Times. At least one bullet also reportedly entered his heart.

The video continues for nearly three minutes after the shooting. Neither of two officers in the frame administers CPR, even though the Courier reported that the police said they tried hard to save Scott's life. A backup officer who arrives on the scene lifts Scott's shirt, and the footage ends with Slager checking Scott's pulse.