Michael Slager Murder Retrial Date Pushed Back to August

— -- Former North Charleston, South Carolina, police officer Michael Slager will likely head to federal court before he returns to state court for his murder retrial.

Slager's state retrial was delayed on Tuesday from March 1 to Aug. 28 after Judge Clifton Newman granted a request by defense attorney Andy Savage.

Savage asked for the state retrial to be pushed back, saying the defense expert witnesses were not available to testify in March.

Solicitor Scarlett Wilson wanted the state retrial to begin March 1, saying at a hearing on Monday that the family of the victim, Walter Scott, was "anxious for a resolution."

A mistrial was declared in Dec. 2016 after Slager first went on trial in state court for murder for the shooting death of Scott, an unarmed black man.

The shooting happened at a traffic stop on April 4, 2015, while Slager was a North Charleston police officer. Video that surfaced shortly after the deadly shooting appears to show the moment Slager, who is white, fatally shot Scott as he ran away.

Slager is also accused of violating Scott's civil rights, for which he faces a federal civil rights trial, set to begin May 1.

If the federal trial date is pushed back, the state trial may be moved up, Judge Newman said Tuesday, because he wants "no undue delay" in getting Slager's state case retried.

Walter Scott's mother, Judy Scott, told ABC News Monday she wanted a retrial "as soon as possible," but after the new trial date was set, Solicitor Wilson told reporters that the Scott family "are patient people."

"As I told the Scott family, we'd rather get it right, than get it fast," Wilson said Tuesday. "It's just an unfortunate situation. But, I think the judge made the right call."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.