Retrial date set for officer charged in Charleston killing
Retrial date set for officer charged in Charleston killing
CHARLESTON, S.C.
The state retrial of a South Carolina police officer charged with murder for killing a black driver running from a traffic stop has been scheduled to begin March 1.
Multiple media outlets report that a judge released the order setting the date Thursday.
A jury couldn’t reach a verdict in Michael Slager’s murder trial in state court earlier this month.
Slager, who is white, is also charged in federal court with violating Walter Scott’s civil rights. That trial is set to start May 1.
Authorities say the former North Charleston police officer shot Walter Scott in the back in April 2015 as he ran from a traffic stop.
Woman dies, two children injured in chairlift fall
GRANBY, Colo.
A mother died and her two young daughters were injured after falling from a chairlift at a small Colorado ski area Thursday.
The 40–year–old Texas mother and the girls, age 9 and 12, fell 20 feet from a four–person lift onto snow at Ski Granby Ranch, a 400–acre family–oriented resort about 90 miles west of Denver.
One of the children was hospitalized in stable condition, and the other was flown to a children’s hospital in suburban Denver for treatment. Investigators have not released any names and have not said what caused the family to fall.
Police spokeswoman Schelly Olson said state regulators who oversee chairlifts are helping with the investigation.
Trucks to block possible attacks in Times Square
NEW YORK
Massive 20–ton sanitation trucks, weighted with an extra 15 tons of sand, will surround the iconic New Year’s Eve celebration in Times Square, officials said Thursday, describing a security measure meant to stop deadly truck–driving attacks into crowds like those in Germany and France.
The placement of the 65 trucks, along with 100 patrol cars, at intersections surrounding Times Square is a new element to an already heavily policed event that will include 7,000 officers, specially armed counterterrorism units and bomb–sniffing dogs.
Family members stranded on road trip now recovering
RICHMOND, Va.
It was supposed to be a nine–hour drive from New Jersey to North Carolina, one that Barbara Briley had made many times before. But something went awry during the Christmas road trip, and the 71–year–old and her young great–granddaughter spent days stranded in wooded area of rural Virginia before a passer–by spotted them and called for help.
Barbara and 5–year–old La’Myra Briley were recovering Thursday after the ordeal, authorities and relatives said. The two were found a day earlier in Dinwiddie County, south of Richmond, after days of searching.
They were near their vehicle, which was stuck on private property about a mile from a paved road, Virginia State Police said.
Associated Press