Charlotte, North Carolina entered a fourth day of peaceful protests Friday night, sparking solidarity demonstrations in other parts of the country as people continue to express outrage over the killing of Keith Lamont Scott, a black man, who was shot dead by police earlier this week. It was not clear from the video whether police heard the wife nor the nature of any injury Scott may have sustained. “He has no weapon”, as they yell at Scott, “Drop the gun!”
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Mrs. Scott used her cellphone camera when she saw police confronting her husband in a parked auto outside a Charlotte apartment complex. The footage captures the sound of four shots but does not show Scott being hit.
Scott’s death was the latest in a string of police killings of black men in America, which have unleashed protests and riots across the country and led to worldwide criticism of the United States’ treatment of minorities.
Keith Lamont Scott with his wife, Rakeyia Scott..
In a statement released on Friday explaining the candidate’s decision not to go to North Carolina, the Clinton campaign said: “Hillary is grateful for, and intends to honor, the invitation from faith leaders to visit with the Charlotte community”. “After further discussion with community leaders, we have made a decision to postpone Sunday’s trip as to not impact the City’s resources”, communications director Jennifer Palmieri said in a statement.
“There has to be systemic changes, there has to be policy changes, there has to be heart changes, to make this city truly safe”, the Rev. Corine Mack, president of the Charlotte branch of the NAACP, said in remarks broadcast by CNN.
Trump also said “drugs are a very, very big factor in what you’re watching on television” from Charlotte, and added that if elected, he would have “no compassion for lawless conduct”.
His wife, Rakeyia Scott, pleaded with officers not to shoot and insisted the man was unarmed in a heartwrenching video that emerged on Friday.
Charlotte has been rocked by three nights of violence-marred protests, prompting the governor to declare a state of emergency in the southern USA city.
The witness who shot the latest video to surface says officers put cuffs on Scott as he lay face down on the pavement.
A spokesperson from the SBI told the Charlotte Observer’s editorial board, however, that the video is still under the jurisdiction of the police department and that they have “the legal authority to release it”. Vinson is also black. After viewing police video on Thursday, the family concluded it was “impossible to discern” what, if anything, Scott was carrying, an attorney representing the family said. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Kerr Putney said Friday that there is footage from at least one police body camera and one dashboard camera.
He told reporters on Friday that releasing it now could harm the investigation, which the state is leading.
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Mr Putney said releasing the footage of Mr Scott’s death could inflame the situation.
