The eyewitness who filmed the harrowing moment a white cop fatally shot an unarmed black man in the back has revealed he told officers at the scene about his video - but became afraid and decided to flee with the vital evidence still in his possession. Feidin Santana, a 23-year-old barber, has been hailed a hero for keeping his cellphone camera trained on Officer Michael Slager as he fired eight shots at Walter Scott, 50, in North Charleston, South Carolina
on Saturday. Mr Santana described what he had seen as a 'persecution' and told other police officers who later arrived at the scene that he had a video of the shooting. 'I know what I saw and I expressed myself to them [the police]. It was an abuse and I saw with my own eyes. I said I had a video tape,' Santana told Morning Joe. 'One of the cops said to ''wait over there'', and I realized that would not be good in that moment. I ran to my job.'
The 23-year-old then contacted a friend who came to his barber shop and watched the video.
'When I showed him [the video], he said this was not good,' Santana said.
The 23-year-old's attorney, Todd Rutherford, said it was good that his client left the scene where seven other officers arrived immediately after the shooting.
Mr Rutherford told Morning Joe: 'He talked to police immediately after the shooting but it was nothing but North Charleston police all in uniform. He got afraid and that's when he left.
'I know what I saw and I expressed myself to them [the police]. It was an abuse and I saw with my own eyes. I said I had a video tape. One of the cops said to ''wait over there'', and I realized that would not be good in that moment. I ran to my job.'
Feidin Santana, witness who filmed fatal shooting of Walter Scott
'He was surrounded by officers who have continually lied about what happened. They [the officers] said that they performed CPR on a dying man - they didn't.
'His video is going to get a lot of people in trouble.'
Following the shooting on Saturday, Officer Slager, 33, filed a police report defending his actions, saying he feared for his life and Scott wrestled his Taser gun from him during a scuffle which broke out after he pulled over the 50-year-old for a broken brake light.
Four days later, Mr Santana's explosive video was made public - and blew the cop's story wide open.
Mr Santana told Today that Scott, a U.S. Coast Guard veteran and father-of-four, 'was trying to get away from the Taser... He never grabbed the Taser from the police'.
Slager was charged with Scott's murder on Tuesday and could face the death penalty. He was terminated from the North Charleston police department the following day, with Chief Eddie Riggers telling a press conference that he had watched the video and found it 'sickening'.
Slager has not entered a plea to the murder charge nor commented publicly on the killing. He has retained an attorney.
Authorities said on Thursday that dashcam footage from the officer's car could be released today.
A job application for Sagler revealed he had worked as a waiter before joining the military and spent several years with the U.S. Coast Guard, NBC reported. 
Shooting victim Scott was also a U.S. Coastguard veteran and had been honorably discharged.
He started working with the North Charleston Police Department in 2009.
Santana, who is originally from the Dominican Republic, admitted that he had considered erasing the video and leaving town.
'I was scared. I am still scared,' Mr Santana said on Thursday. 'But I decided to show my face. My life has changed. People know where I live and where I work. I thought about staying anonymous but everyone including the police know who I am.'
The eye-witness, who has given his account to independent police investigators, gave a detailed account of last Saturday's shooting.
If I were to have a family member that would happen [to], I would like to know the truth. Mr Scott didn't deserve this, and there were other ways that can be used to get him arrested, and that wasn't the proper way to do that.
Feidin Santana, eyewitness to the cop's fatal shooting of Walter Scott
He said he had been walking to work along his usual route when he saw the black man being chased by the white cop.
'It was a persecution,' Mr Santana told Morning Joe. 'I saw Mr Scott running and officer chasing him. They were going to an empty spot.'
Santana also told NBC that before he started recording the scene with his phone the cop 'had control of Scott'.
He said he knew that Officer Slager tasered Scott because he heard the noise of the Taser and the victim yelling out.
Officer Slager fired eight shots at Scott from around 20 feet away while the man had his back turned and was fleeing.
Sagler then cuffed Scott's lifeless body and was seen dropping an object - possibly his service-issue Taser - by his side.
Mr Santana said he did not hear the officer yell stop before he fired the shots at Scott.
He continued to film and moved closer to where the victim was lying lifeless on the ground.
'At that moment, I never thought he was dead. I thought maybe one bullet had hit him, ' Mr Santana said on Thursday.
Mr Santana said that Officer Slager was aware he was at the scene.
He told Today: 'I recorded the video so that maybe he can feel that someone is there.
'There were just the three of us in that moment. I couldn’t tell what was going to happen, so I just wanted him to know that he's not by himself.'
The 23-year-old witness did not see any officer perform CPR on Scott. He saw Slager check for a pulse and a second officer, lift up the victim's shirt to look at the wounds.
Mr Santana decided to reach out to the Scott family with the tape of their loved one's death.
'If I were to have a family member that would happen [to], I would like to know the truth,' he told NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt.
'Mr. Scott didn't deserve this, and there were other ways that can be used to get him arrested, and that wasn't the proper way to do that.'
An Indiegogo page has been created to raise money in support of Slager, with donations continuing to come in, and a Facebook page and Twitter account have also been created to 'support the effort'.
'We're campaigning to show our Support for Officer Michael T. Slager! We believe in all of our LEOs and want to publicly support them!' the page read.
'Although he may have made mis-steps in judgement he was protecting the community.'
One of the individuals who donated listed their name as Trayvon.
Earlier, GoFundMe, another popular crowd-funding site, shut down a fundraising campaign for Slager.
On Wednesday night, community residents gathered near North Charleston City Hall close to where the shooting took place to remember Scott. While some held candles and fought back tears, others waved signs with messages that said 'Walter We All Have Your Back' and 'We Are All Human.'
There was also storytelling and at one point the crowd began to chant 'hands up, don't shoot.' The evening ended with a few of the participants observing a moment of silence to honor the life of Scott.
State Rep. Wendell Gilliard attended, according toThe Post and Courier, and spoke to community members, urging them to get 'committed, involved and engaged'.
Many people discussed how different this tragedy could have played out if not for Santana filming the entire incident.
A small memorial of flowers and a single teddy bear was set up in the vacant lot where the father-of four was killed.
The FBI and the Justice Department's civil rights prosecutors announced on Wednesday that a federal investigation would take place.
Hillary Clinton shared her thoughts on the tragedy on Wednesday, tweeting: 'Praying for #Walter Scott's family. Heartbreaking & too familiar. We can do better - rebuild trust, reform justice system, respect all lives.'
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