“We as the jury regret to inform the court that despite the best efforts of all members, we are unable to come to a unanimous decision,” the jury wrote in a note Circuit Court Judge Clifton Newman read aloud in the case.

Newman declared a mistrial on Monday, shortly before 3:40 p.m., and thanked the jurors for their “hard work in trying to reach a unanimous verdict in this case.”

The deadlock came more than a year after Michael Slager, a white police officer, was charged with murder and fired after graphic video emerged showing him shooting Walter Scott, a black motorist, as the 50-year-old was running away.

This recording, captured by a bystander, spread quickly across news stations and the Internet, propelled into the public consciousness during a wave of scrutiny and protests nationwide focusing on how police use deadly force. Slager became the rare officer charged for an on-duty shooting, and the case continued to draw national attention as it stretched into December.