After Tuesday’s shooting of Scott by Charlotte police, “release the tapes” became a rallying cry among protesters all week.
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For the first time in three nights, police enforced a curfew, saying they would arrest violators.
A group of around 100 demonstrators have gathered across the street from Bank of America Stadium to protest the shooting death last week of a man by a Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer.
Their message competed with the noise of fans streaming toward the stadium and an impromptu jazz band playing tunes less than a block away.
Protesters kneeled while the American national anthem played, in a repeat of protests by high-profile athletes in recent weeks over police brutality toward black men, with police in riot gear standing guard. Inside the stadium, Carolina safety Marcus Ball raised his fist during the anthem. Charlotte Police Chief Kerr Putney, who initially had refused to release the videos, made public Saturday night some of the dashcam and bodycam footage from the incident that shows officers yelling “drop the gun”.
He also said that his officers didn’t break the law but noted that the State Bureau of Investigation is continuing its investigation.
In one of the police videos, a dashboard-mounted camera from a squad auto showed Scott exiting his vehicle and then backing away from it. Police shout to him to drop a gun, but it is not clear that Scott is holding anything.
Tonya Ford, a Charlotte resident and Panthers season ticket holder, told NBC News that she would not be attending Sunday’s game in protest of Scott’s death. After darkness fell, dozens of people carried signs and chanted to urge police to release dashboard and body camera video that could show more clearly what happened.
Police also released photos on Saturday of what they said was a loaded handgun found at the scene, adding it bore Scott’s DNA and fingerprints. They also said Scott had marijuana.
In one of the police videos, a dashboard-mounted camera from a squad auto showed Scott exiting his vehicle and then backing away from it. Police shout to him to drop a gun, but it is not clear that Scott is holding anything.
The previous night, hundreds of people marched through the city center on a fifth night of demonstrations that stretched into Sunday morning, including white and black families protesting police violence.
Away from the marching, others are speaking out about the videos.
Putnam said the officers retreated, donned protective gear that was marked “Police”, and returned to confront Scott, ordering him loudly to drop his weapon, something that can be heard on the video. Law-enforcement officials maintained a significant presence in downtown Charlotte on Sunday, though the city’s website said Sunday evening that a midnight-to-6 a.m. curfew had been lifted. An attorney representing Crutcher’s family says Crutcher committed no crime and gave officers no reason to shoot him. Why werent the Tasers deployed?.
There is no definitive evidence in this video as to whether or not there is an object in his hand, and if there is, what that object is, Justin Bamberg, an attorney for Scotts family, said Saturday.
“But what we do know is that the moment Mr Scott is shot, it appears as though he’s not aggressively moving toward law enforcement; he’s actually doing the opposite”. Hes passively stepping back.. Police say he was, while his family says he was sitting in his vehicle reading a book when officers approached him.
What we know and what you should know about him is that he was an American citizen who deserved better, he said.
Charlotte has been on edge since Scott’s death. Forty-four people were arrested after Wednesday’s protests, and one protester who was shot died at a hospital Thursday. He also addressed the protests that have occurred each night since the September 20 shooting, saying “no one has the right to engage in acts of violence against property of persons” in the U.S.
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The mayor of Charlotte has lifted the curfew on the city after days of protests over the killing of a black man by police.
