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Charlotte police release video of shooting but doubts remain

He falls to the ground after four shots are heard.

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In one of the police videos, Scott is shown getting out of his vehicle and then backing away from it.

“When they see the weapon and they see marijuana, they say ‘Uh-oh, this is a safety issue, ‘” Putney said.

“There was a crime that he had committed that caused the encounter, and then the gun exacerbated that situation”, Chief Putney said.

The family’s attorney said there is no definitive evidence in the police videos that speaks to whether Scott had an object in his hand or acted aggressively toward police before they fired shots. Vinson wasn’t wearing a body camera. While walking backwards, Scott is shot at four times by Officer Brentley Vinson, who is off camera throughout both videos.

The police department also released photos of a handgun, a holster, and a marijuana blunt.

The chief cautioned that the police footage alone is “insufficient” to determine whether there was wrongdoing by officers, though he maintained that Scott was armed when he was shot.

Scott eventually emerges from the SUV slowly and backs away.

Asked whether he expected the footage to quiet protesters, Putney responded: “The footage itself will not create in anyone’s mind as to what this case represents.The footage only supports the other information” such as forensic evidence and witness statements.

No officers are being charged at this time as a result of the police department’s investigation, he said, though an independent investigation is also being conducted by the State Bureau of Investigation.

Black Lives Matter protesters argue with a man outside a restaurant during a protest in downtown Atlanta in response to the police shooting death of Keith Lamont Scott in Charlotte. “That I did not visually see in the video”, Putney said.

“The officers gave loud, clear, verbal commands which were also heard by numerous witnesses”, Charlotte-Mecklenburg County Police Chief Kerr Putney said at a news conference Wednesday morning, noting that the fatal confrontation unfolded “in a matter of seconds”. He said full footage will be released at a later date.

Mr Putney re-emphasised Mr Scott had a handgun and added he was also in possession of marijuana. She can also be heard telling him, “Keith get out the auto, Keith don’t you do it”.

Another lawyer for the Scott family, Charles Monnett, said, the family did not know enough of the facts to know whether the officer who killed Scott should face charges.

Scott’s fatal shooting on Tuesday sparked days of protest and violence in Charlotte, killing one protester, amid debate about whether officer’s actions were justified. After speaking with state legislatures he said it could now be released without “adversely impacting” the ongoing investigation.

The city has been on edge ever since Scott’s shooting death on Tuesday.

The protests turned unruly the first two nights, while the next two nights were much more peaceful following McCrory’s state of emergency declaration and Scott’s imposition of a midnight to 6 a.m. curfew.

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Protesters march in the streets during another night of protests over the police shooting of Keith Scott in Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S. September 23, 2016.

Protesters in Charlotte demand police release tapes of shooting