The moment that a black police officer shoots Keith Scott, a 43-year-old father of seven, cannot be seen in the two-minute video recorded by his wife, Rakeyia, who can be heard urging officers not to open fire on her husband.
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Scott was shot and killed during a parking lot encounter with police searching for another person wanted for arrest.
“… The overwhelming majority of people who have been concerned about police-community relations [are] doing it the right way”, he tells Roberts.
Here are the links to the videos the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department forwarded to Ars: the first video is a 68-second body cam clip that police say covers when the body cam was activated to when “officers began rendering first aid”. “But we have far more questions than answers. How did this incident result in a loss of life?”
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Kerr Putney has said he will not publicly release the video out of concern it would taint an ongoing investigation. Putney said Friday that releasing it could inflame the situation.
Putney, the police chief, stated that he would release the video only if he had a “compelling reason”. He said there is more video available, but it doesn’t illustrate the shooting. “Every once in a while, you see folks doing it the wrong way”.
Charlotte investigators have said footage from the shooting is now exempt from public records requests because it is part of an ongoing investigation. They call for the greatest transparency possible to reassure communities that investigations are thorough and impartial and that law enforcement officers who endanger the community will be held accountable.
The videos do not show conclusively, though, whether Scott had a gun in his hand.
He did note, however, that there’s no clear evidence that Scott pointed a gun at an officer.
Police say he had a handgun. While walking backwards, Scott is shot several times by police officers. I’m not going to come near you, I’m going to record you. I stand behind the truth. They saw that Scott was in possession of marijuana, Putney said, publicizing a new element in the case, and then noticed a gun.
A St. Anthony police officer pulled Diamond Reynolds and fiancé Philando Castile over in a routine traffic stop on July 6 in Falcon Heights, Minnesota.
Police have said Scott was shot on Tuesday because he refused commands to drop a handgun. There has been some speculation that the officer could have been sliding a gun away from Scott’s hand towards the curb behind him.
SCOTT: “He doesn’t have a gun”. They said the gun was loaded and Scott was wearing an ankle holster.
Putney said the videos to be released Saturday, from a dash camera and a body camera, will show “no definitive visual evidence” that Scott had a gun. CNN provided the full account of the captured incident where Mrs. Scott revealed Keith had a “TBI” (traumatic brain injury). “We shoot to end the threat”.
On Friday, a cell phone video that was taken by Scott’s wife was released by the family. Multiple state and local officials, including Roberts and Attorney General Roy Cooper said that the video should be released to the public. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton tweeted Friday that the video should be released without delay.
Dashboard camera footage provided by authorities in the police-shooting death of Keith Lamont Scott shows a police vehicle approach the scene where a plainclothes officer already has a weapon drawn on Scott. (WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT)Police also released images of items recovered from the scene, including photos of a gun.
Speaking to reporters in Charlotte, the chief said his decision was not influenced by protests that have taken place daily, where demonstrators have chanted “release the tapes!” downtown and by the police headquarters.
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“Our practice and our protocol is to release as soon as we can, to inform”, Putney said, adding that he waited until the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation assured him it would not adversely impact its investigation.
