White officer gets probation in black driver's shooting

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A white South Carolina police officer who was charged with a felony for shooting and killing a black driver at the end of a chase took a plea deal Monday and was sentenced to three years of probation.

A prosecutor wanted the North Augusta police officer charged with voluntary manslaughter, which carries up to 30 years in prison, but a grand jury refused to indict Craven.

Craven's plea comes amid a nationwide debate over the use of force and how white police officers treat black people, fueled by high-profile incidents including the fatal shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and Freddie Gray's death after he was injured in a Baltimore police van.

The Associated Press requested the footage nearly two years ago and eventually sued the State Law Enforcement Division, which refused to release the video until after Craven's plea Monday.

"What he did was murder this man, and the judicial system just let him get away with it," said state Rep. Joe Neal, a black Democrat from Hopkins who saw the video and has spent decades speaking out against racism in law enforcement and demanding accountability through data and police cameras.

Addy said the shooting wasn't similar to other high-profile police killings like in North Charleston, where white officer Michael Slager is awaiting trial on a murder charge for killing an unarmed black man as he ran away from a traffic stop.