US police man on murder charge is sacked

A white South Carolina police officer has been dismissed from his job after being charged with murder for shooting an apparently unarmed black man in the back as he fled, the latest death that has brought protesters out to decry racism and police brutality in the United States.

With dozens of demonstrators in North Charleston protesting the fatal shooting there on Saturday of 50-year-old Walter Scott, which was captured on video by a witness, officials held a tense news conference expressing revulsion and appealing for calm.

“I have been praying for peace, peace for the family and peace for this community,” North Charleston police chief Eddie Driggers said.