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.
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Both videos show Scott moving at a measured pace with his hands at his sides.
And the claim by the police that Scott had a gun has been rubbished by his family members. It’s not apparent in the video if he’s holding anything shortly before he was shot. The footage shows a black man leaving an SUV and “walking backward as he’s shot at four times”, the Associated Press reported.
The video, recorded by Scott’s wife and released Friday by his family, does not indicate whether Scott had a gun. Vinson wasn’t wearing a body camera.
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. He also said physical evidence would be released.
As the encounter escalates, she repeatedly urges police: “You better not shoot him”.
An officer tried to break Scott’s vehicle window with a baton, which can be seen in the body camera footage.
“Don’t shoot him! He has no weapon” she cries as police yell at Scott, “Drop the gun!”
Here’s the first piece of body camera footage.
Police Chief Kerr Putney told a news conference that after speaking to investigators he had concluded that police could now release the tapes without “adversely impacting” the investigation. McCrory also said he had been assured by state investigators that the release wouldn’t have an impact on their probe into the shooting of Keith Lamont Scott. He said the officers “are absolutely not being charged by me”. “The only way to get that is for the police to release the videos that were released today”. Officers then left the area to outfit themselves with marked duty vests and equipment that would clearly identify them as police officers, according to the CMPD statement. A short time later, police said, an officer saw Scott hold up a gun. They said Scott also had marijuana.
Earlier in the week, Putney said that police were not ready to release the video because doing so could compromise the investigation into the shooting.
Keith Lamont Scott can be seen in police dashboard camera video backing away from his SUV with his hands down, and it’s unclear if there’s anything in the man’s hands.
Patch will update this breaking news story when the video is released.
Charlotte turned into the latest flashpoint of mass demonstrations after Scott’s shooting death on Tuesday.
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.
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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.
