The US Department of Justice (DOJ) [official website] announced on Tuesday that they will begin a comprehensive review [press release] of the North Charleston Police Department [official website] in South Carolina following the killing of unarmed black motorist Walter Scott. The review is to be conducted [Post and Courier report] by the DOJ’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services [official website] in an effort to alleviate [Post and Courier report] tensions surrounding the officer involved shooting. Scott was shot in the back by a Caucasian officer, calling attention to racial issues in the town. The review will look at official and unofficial polices [AP report] to ensure that the police department is not violating the rights of community members nor using implicit or unconscious bias in their policing. The North Charleston police department is among a growing number of departments working with the DOJ to conduct policing reforms. The review is expected to take a year to complete.

On Wednesday the DOJ announced that they had indicted [press release] Michael Slager for a federal rights offense for the shooting of Scott and for allegedly giving misleading statements to fellow officers in an effort to obstruct justice. A former police officer in North Charleston was indicted [JURIST report] by a grand jury in November on murder charges brought after the April 2015 incident in which the officer shot and killed Scott, who was running away from him.