Greg Toppo

USATODAY

A former South Carolina police officer charged in the videotaped killing of an unarmed black motorist last April is free on bond after a judge ruled that he shouldn't remain jailed until his planned October trial.

Michael Slager is charged with murder in the shooting death of Walter Scott. Slager is shown on cellphone video firing eight times as Scott ran from a traffic stop in North Charleston, S.C.

The case added fuel to an already intense national debate about how blacks are treated by white police officers.

Slager, 34, had been jailed in isolation for more than eight months since his arrest, The (Charleston) Post and Courierreported last month. His defense team in December asked Circuit Judge Clifton Newman to set his trial for the spring.

But prosecutor Scarlett Wilson is also prosecuting the case of Dylann Roof, the white suspect in the killings of nine black parishoners at a Charleston church — that trial is slated to take place in July. Wilson said a state Supreme Court order prevents her from trying other cases before that one. She had asked for a November trial date for Slager.

His attorneys asked the judge to free him, saying he would otherwise face 11 more months of incarceration, The Post and Courierreported.

Wilson opposed the release, saying there had been no change in circumstances to warrant it. "We believe the defendant remains, as the court found, a danger to the community and a flight risk," she said.

Walter Scott, the father of the slain man, also addressed the judge, saying he often goes to the cemetery to visit his son's flower-bedecked grave.

"If we let him out, he's going to go home to see his wife and children. All I can look at is a pot of flowers," Scott said.

But Newman on Monday ruled that the trial delay was a change in circumstance that allowed him to reconsider bail. He ordered Slager freed on a $500,000 surety bond, saying the ex-cop would have to remain in South Carolina once released. Slager was released at 7 p.m. Monday, the county sheriff said.

Newman also set an Oct. 31 trial date.

Slager faces 30 years to life without parole if convicted. In October, the city of North Charleston approved a $6.5 million civil settlement with Scott's family.

After the shooting, the U.S. Justice Department said it was looking into possible federal civil rights violations in the case. On Friday, Wilson said federal officials have sent the state a letter saying that Slager could face charges.

After the bail decision on Monday, Scott family attorney Justin Bamberg urged the public to “just be peaceful.”

More: Dashcam video from Walter Scott's shooting

Contributing: The Associated Press