But Scott’s family has said he did not have a weapon – that he was sitting in his vehicle reading a book.
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At a news conference Thursday, Putney said the footage does not provide “absolute definitive visual evidence” of Scott pointing a gun, though he said it does support “the version of the truth” that police officers gave. He told reporters the video will be made public when he believes there is a “compelling reason” to do so.
The police chief had said previously that a handgun was recovered at the scene, and that no book was found, contrary to the family’s assertion. “I’m not going to jeopardize the investigation”.
Meanwhile, an undisclosed number of National Guardsmen assembled in Charlotte, activated by Gov. Pat McCrory after a second straight night of racial unrest that seemed at odds with Charlotte’s image as a diverse, forward-looking banking capital of the New South.
The decision stands in sharp contrast to the path followed by the city of Tulsa, where an unarmed black man was shot by police on Friday.
As WFAE’s Gwendolyn Glenn explained, there was tension in the city a year ago over a 2013 police shooting of a black man.
The regional United Way building across the street from the hall was also damaged.
The second night of violent protests added Charlotte to the list of USA cities that have erupted in violence over the death of a black man at the hands of police.
Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts was considering a curfew and Bank of America, which has its headquarters in Charlotte, told employees not to report for work at its uptown offices.
McCrory said he was also sending the National Guard to Charlotte as scattered groups of protesters continued to attack reporters and others, break windows and start fires.
Police in Charlotte say that, for the moment, they do not plan to release a video showing the fatal shooting of a black man by officers.
“Others said that this was pretty common, that [Scott] would sit waiting for his son at a bus stop. and would often have a book”.
After the fatal shooting, protests took place close to the vehicle park of the apartment complex where Scott was shot, with demonstrators closing down Interstate 85 and smashing the windows of a nearby Walmart.
“The policy has been that until all the piece of evidence are in place, until the witnesses have been interviewed, until we can gather a full picture, that we are not releasing that”, she said. But Reykia Scott says hurting people or damaging property is not the answer.
The chief’s comments come a week before a North Carolina law goes into effect that would require a court order to disclose police footage to the public.
Scott was shot Tuesday afternoon. When asked if officials shouldn’t be more transparent, she said: “The transparency would be helpful if the footage is clear and if it covers all the different parts of what happened that evening”.
“We have great folks in our community who really want this to be peaceful and want us to have constructive dialogue to move our city forward”, she said on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”A protester, center, is taken into custody by Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers on Wednesday”.
Other cities have released footage of police shootings.
The chief is now investigating the incident, which is yet another instance of police shooting a black man in the US. The police released video of the shooting on Monday.
The three uniformed officers had body cameras but the plain-clothes officer did not, police said.
“There must be transparency and the videos must be released”, said Barber.
Shooting victim Keith Lamont Scott.
After watching the videos, the family again has more questions than answers.
Protesters say: Police may have profiled Scott because of his race.
It is impossible to discern from the videos what, if anything, Mr. Scott is holding in his hands.
Putney said yesterday that the department was looking into allegations that he had been shot by a police officer.
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District Attorney R. Andrew Murray said in a statement Thursday that he was making the request for a state investigation at the request of Scott’s family. “For those who wish to protest, we urge you to do so peacefully”.
