A judge said Thursday he needs more time to decide whether the ex-South Carolina cop who killed Walter Scott after he turned and ran should be granted bond.
Former North Charleston police Officer Michael Slager, 33, will remain jailed until state Circuit Judge Clifton Newman — who was brought in from another circuit to oversee the case — makes a decision. Newman said he had a lot of information to consider and wouldn't rush the decision, according to NBC station WCBD of Charleston, one of the few news organizations allowed in the courtroom.
Slager, who is white, is charged with murder in the April 4 shooting of Scott, 50, who was black, after a traffic stop.
Anthony Scott, the victim's older brother, called it "a good day and a bad day for the family."
"We did get to see my brother's murderer for the first time, and I felt something lifted up off of my heart," Scott told reporters after the hearing. "But it's a painful day for the family because the wound keeps opening over and over and over again."
Chris Stewart, an attorney for the Scott family, said it was good that the family was able to confront Slager.
"They were able to reminisce about their son that was taken from them," Stewart said.
Slager and his lawyer told NBC News this week that an infamous video of the incident doesn't show the whole story of what happened.
"Just that three seconds of the video came out. And everybody thought I was racist and I just got out of my car and just shot him in the back for no reason," Slager said in a Skype interview from jail.
Related: Michael Slager, Cop Who Killed Walter Scott, Says He Felt Threatened
Slager's attorney, Andy Savage, told NBC News that Scott grabbed Slager's Taser and fired it twice at the officer, missing only because he didn't know how to operate it. Slager fired "because he felt threatened" and had no way to know Scott was unarmed, Savage.
In court Wednesday, Savage stressed that state investigators had found Scott's DNA on the Taser — without recording where on the weapon it was found, which he called a crucial piece of missing evidence.
Community activists had warned of unrest if Slager were freed on bond.
Former state Attorney General Charles Condon told WCBD that Newman wasn't supposed to take such issues into consideration. The main considerations, he said, were whether Slager could be considered a threat or a flight risk.
