NEWS BRIEF The man who was shot during Wednesday night’s protests in downtown Charlotte has died, police say.
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Putney said that it would be inappropriate to present footage of “a victim’s worst day” for public consumption.
Putney says he is working to honor the request from Scott’s family to view that video.
The protests were sparked by the fatal police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott in the North Carolina city on Tuesday.
Sixteen police officers and several protesters had been injured on Tuesday night and in the early hours of Wednesday.
And, in other fun news, North Carolina Rep. Robert Pittenger appeared on the BBC and said, among other things, that the black residents of Charlotte “hate white people because white people are successful and they’re not”.
“The video does not give me absolute, definitive visual evidence that would confirm that a person is pointing a gun. We would like to see surveillance video from the surrounding area that may have captured the shooting to determine who was responsible for the shooting”.
Putney said that police will only release the video “when we believe there is a compelling reason”, but said he will “not…jeopardize the investigation” by releasing it. Officials said one person was being treated for gunshot wounds and is “on life support”. Although the first night of demonstrations resulted in the injuring of several officers, the second night resulted in the almost fatal shooting of a civilian. Six officers suffered minor injuries, paramedics said.
The state’s governor, Pat McCrory, declared a state of emergency in response to the continued violence and called in the National Guard.
Police used tear gas to break up protesters, the Associated Press reported.
A man was shot and critically wounded as protesters charged police in riot gear trying to protect an upscale hotel.
Roberts urged community leaders to be advocates for peace during protests and demonstrations.
“My priority is the victim’s family”, Putney said. She said she understands people’s frustrations, but hurting people or damaging property is not the answer.
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Just this week, the Tulsa, Oklahoma, police department made public video of the disputed September 16 shooting death of an unarmed black man by a white officer. Police claim that Scott was holding a handgun and refused commands to drop it before being shot. She said Scott was holding a book he was reading while waiting for the school bus to drop off his son.
