A file sent to the media Saturday also includes pictures of a handgun and marijuana that police say Keith Lamont Scott possessed.
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From a different angle, police body camera footage shows an officer approach the white SUV with his gun drawn and another officer already pointing his gun at Scott. The officers initially noticed that the 43-year-old was rolling a marijuana joint in his vehicle – and then saw him raise a gun, the police said.
The police statement said officers left to put on marked vests and when they returned, officers again noticed Scott “in possession of a weapon”.
While walking backward, Scott is shot several times by police officers. Analyst M. Quentin Williams, a former Federal Bureau of Investigation agent who literally wrote a book titled, “How Not to Get Killed by a Police Officer”, went frame by frame on the videos with NBC Charlotte. There is no audio for the first 25 seconds.
Charlotte police have released on Saturday, September 24, footage of the shooting death of a black man during an encounter with officers in the state of North Carolina, after days of protests demanding the videos be made public.
Justin Bamberg told reporters today that the dashcam and body camera footage released on earlier this morning leaves more questions unanswered than it provides clarity.
“It does not make sense to us how it was possible that this incident resulted in the loss of life”, Ray Dotch, Scott’s brother-in-law said. Scott “was an American citizen who deserves better”, he added.
Putney reemphasized Saturday that Scott had a handgun and added that he was also in possession of marijuana.
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. Kerr said he is not charging any officers in relation to the shooting but the state investigation is still ongoing.
When the national anthem was played, the protesters all dropped to one knee as many NFL players have been doing for weeks to call attention to issues, including police shootings.
Charlotte is the latest USA city to be shaken by protests and recriminations over the death of a black man at the hands of police, a list that includes Baltimore, Milwaukee, Chicago, New York and Ferguson, Missouri. In the video, Mrs. Scott can be heard telling officers that her husband has TBI, a traumatic brain injury. But the officers were heard opening fire minutes after they shouted commands to Scott to drop a gun.
“Due to the combination of illegal drugs and the gun Mr. Scott had in his possession, officers chose to take enforcement action for public safety concerns”, police said.
The city has been on edge ever since Scott’s shooting death on Tuesday.
The shooting of Scott was the latest in a series of deadly police encounters across the country in recent years that has raised questions about the use of force by United States law enforcement against African-Americans and other minorities. The demonstrations reached a violent crescendo on Wednesday before the National Guard was called in a day later to maintain order. They also chanted, “No tapes, no peace” and raised signs including one reading “Stop Killing The Black People”. “There was a crime that he had committed [possessing marijuana] that caused the encounter, and then the gun exacerbated that encounter”, said Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Kerr Putney at a news conference.
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The next two nights of protests were free of property damage and violence, with organizers stressing a message of peace at the end of the week.
