The Latest: Jury foreman had felony charge dropped

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Latest on the jury foreman in the murder mistrial of a South Carolina police officer speaking publicly (all times local):

3 p.m.

The foreman of a jury that couldn’t come to a verdict in the murder trial of a South Carolina police officer once had a felony charge against him dropped by the prosecutor’s office.

Court records show a breach of trust charge was dropped against Dorsey Montgomery on Nov. 17, nearly two years after he was arrested by North Charleston police.

Montgomery was the jury foreman for the murder trial of former North Charleston police officer Michael Slager.

Prosecutor Scarlett Wilson told The Post and Courier of Charleston (http://bit.ly/2gFv8lx) that she didn’t know another prosecutor in her office dropped Montgomery’s charge.

Slager’s lawyer Andy Savage told the newspaper he knew about Montgomery’s charge, but kept him on the jury.

The judge blocked reporters from court sessions where jurors were interviewed.

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9 a.m.

The foreman of the jury that couldn’t reach a verdict in the murder trial of a former South Carolina police officer says he initially wanted to convict Michael Slager of murder.

But after reviewing evidence, Dorsey Montgomery said Thursday on NBC’s “Today” show he thought Slager was guilty of voluntary manslaughter in the death of Walter Scott.

Jurors deliberated more than 22 hours over four days before a mistrial was declared Monday. The white former officer was charged with shooting Scott, who was black, five times as he fled a traffic stop in April 2015.

At one point, a juror told the judge he couldn’t “in good conscience” convict Slager. Montgomery says that doesn’t mean the other 11 jurors thought the officer was guilty. He says five of them weren’t decided.