Tuesday night, in Charlotte, N.C., a young black police officer shot and killed Keith Lamont Scott.
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In 2013, Charlotte police charged one of their own, Randall Kerrick with voluntary manslaughter within days, after the white officer shot an unarmed black man who had been in a wreck and was looking for help.
Putney says Brentley Vinson, the officer who opened fire, was not wearing a body camera.
The protests started Tuesday after police said they had been searching for someone who had an outstanding warrant at The Village at College Downs complex on Old Concord Road when they saw Scott leave his vehicle holding a gun.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Kerr Putney said the National Guard will be there to focus on protecting infrastructure and assets in the city, which will allow CMPD to dedicate its resources to de-escalating any protests.
Scott was shot and killed Tuesday after police encountered him in the parking lot of an apartment complex, where they were trying to serve a warrant on a man for an unrelated matter.
“If he had a weapon or not. all the training that these police officers have, why does it go right to shooting?”
Scott’s daughter, however, said that her father did not have a gun and only had a book in his possession before he was shot. WATCH: Charlotte police union spokesman said video showed Scott had gunDuring the question and answer portion of the news conference, the lawyers were asked if anyone in Scott’s family witnessed the shooting. Pat McCrory has officially declared a state of emergency in North Carolina and deployed the National Guard. But she said that not having seen it, she wasn’t sure if the footage was in fact conclusive.
“It seems to me tonight is more peaceful than last night”, Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts told CNN.
Stores have been destroyed and looted during the two nights of protests across the city.
The three uniformed officers had body cameras; the plainclothes officer did not, police said.
However, police also said Thursday that video of the shooting does not conclusively show Scott pointing the gun at officers. Putney says other uniformed officers on scene were. “If you think we should display a victim’s worst day for public consumption, that is not the transparency I’m speaking of”.
Bamberg said he has not seen any evidence that would indicate a gun was present at the scene of the shooting.
He said the video would be released to the public “when we believe there is a compelling reason”. In a press release, the police department maintained that Scott posed an “imminent deadly threat” to law enforcement officials. By Thursday morning, employees of local businesses were cleaning up the broken glass that was left behind. The station read a statement from Scott’s family asking people protest peacefully.
“When we look at what happened to Mr. Scott and what has happened around the country with individuals being shot down by law enforcement, we can’t talk about those incidents in isolation because we have to look at the root problem”, Bamberg said. Helicopters will patrol the streets from above, and police will have more than 1,000 cameras to help monitor the city, Putney said.
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“I will say that police were already out in riot gear”, she said. “I can also tell you we did not find a book that has been made referenced to”. However a state law coming into effect on October 1 will set new restrictions, establishing that such videos are not public record and requiring a court order be released.
