The chaos in Charlotte stretched well into the overnight hours as protesters faced off with heavy armed officers.
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He was shot after he emerged from the vehicle holding his weapon for a second time, although Putney said he was unable to say if the gun had been pointed at officers.
Protesters initially surrounded officers who were working at the scene of the fatal police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott at an apartment complex earlier that day. Hundreds of protestors faced off against police in riot gear and some even threw fireworks. Officers fired rubber bullets, tear gas, flash-bang grenades and used pepper spray to disperse the crowd.
Putney said that police would not be releasing a dashcam video of Scott’s shooting “to the masses”, reported CNN.
African-American leaders, who said they were speaking for Mr Scott’s family, held their own news conference near where he was killed.
“It’s time to change the narrative because I can tell you from the facts that the story’s a little bit different as to how it’s been portrayed so far, especially through social media”, he said.
But neighbors and his family say he only had a book.
Both of the officers involved, Brentley Vinson and Scott, were black men. He has been placed on leave, standard procedure in such cases.
Thursday, some businesses are telling their employees to work from home. “The victim was shot while he stood between two ministers, and we believe he was shot by police”, said Minister Steve Knight of the city’s Missiongathering Christian Church.
But Putney said during the news conference that he saw no reason to impose a curfew.
North Carolina governor Pat McCrory declared a state of emergency after protesters took to the streets of Charlotte.
“My heart bleeds for what our great city is going through”, McCrory told WBTV-TV.
North Carolina’s governor has declared a state of emergency.
The Federal Justice Department is still determining whether or not they will open an investigation into Scott’s death.
“Charlotte is a city that has worked very hard to build good community police relations”, she told the BBC.
The City of Charlotte council sent out a message shortly after the incident saying the man had been fatally shot in a “civilian on civilian shooting”.
Authorities said three people and four police officers have been injured during the protests.
Video obtained and verified by The Associated Press, which was recorded right after the shooting, shows someone lying in a pool of blood as people scream and a voice yells for someone to call for help.
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“People that are coming to the scene just to cause problems”.
