michael slager

Former South Carolina police officer Michael Slager, shown on the left in a photo provided by the Charleston County Sheriff's Office, and on the right in uniform in an undated photo. (Associated Press

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VOORHEES TWP. -- To Viana Ventura, he was one of her numerous high school-age employees who did their job and had a good time together while on the clock.

Now, she can't imagine the South Carolina police officer charged with murder in the fatal shooting of an unarmed man is the same person who worked at her Italian restaurant as a waiter more than a decade ago.

"I saw a picture, I saw his face; I couldn't believe that he would do that," Ventura, the owner of V3 Bistro & Cafe who opened the Voorhees business in 1985, said of 33-year-old Michael Slager, a 2001 Lenape High School graduate.

Slager, who is white and has since been stripped of his badge, is seen on video firing eight rounds from his .45-caliber pistol at Walter Lamar Scott, 50, a black male. Scott was apparently unarmed and fleeing from the officer on foot after a motor vehicle stop for a broken tail light.

Slager claimed that Scott allegedly reached for the officer's taser, prompting him to shoot at Scott. However, video shows Scott fleeing across an open lot as Slager fires his gun.

Michael Slager, as seen in his 2001 Lenape High School year book photo.

The North Charleston police chief has stepped forward to call the video of the incident "sickening."

Dashboard camera video was released late Thursday showing the initial police stop. In that clip, Slager appears to be walking back to his vehicle from Scott's, who then gets out from the driver's seat and takes off running.

Slager was accused of excessive force in 2013 when he apparently used a stun gun on a black subject not involved in a burglary that was being investigated, according to the Los Angeles Times. Internal affairs later cleared him of the offense, the newspaper reports.

According to Slager's job application with the North Charleston Police Department, which released the documents, he worked as a waiter after high school before serving six years in the U.S. Coast Guard in Florida.

The application does not list the timeframe for when he worked at the Italian eatery, but Jan. 20, 2003, is listed as a start date with the U.S. Coast Guard.

At the time of Sunday's shooting, he had been living in South Carolina with his wife, who is eight months pregnant.

"He seemed really nice," said Ventura, adding that she had previously known Slager's mother who would come in for dinner with family, but hasn't heard from her in years.

When asked about his attitude as an employee, Ventura said she didn't recall him having a temper or other negative qualities.

"I know the name," Frank Buchler, a 25-year employee of the restaurant and current sous chef, said when asked if he remembered Slager working as a waiter more than 10 years ago.

Slager is now being held in a county dentition facility without bond. It was not immediately known if an initial court appearance has been scheduled.

"We all think it's pretty messed up. It's clear in the video it was uncalled for and an excessive use of force," said James Dalton, a fellow 2001 Lenape graduate who said he did not personally remember Slager.

"I'm sure there's a back story to all this, of what happened before the camera started rolling, but whatever happened it's clear as day that the officer's reaction was uncalled for. The guy was running away and you unload eight rounds at him," Dalton continued.

Attempts to reach the school district on Thursday were unsuccessful.

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Greg Adomaitis may be reached at gadomaitis@southjerseymedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @GregAdomaitis. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.