Police public affairs officer Keith Trietley said officers from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department were at an apartment complex searching for a suspect with an outstanding warrant, when they saw a man get out of his vehicle with a firearm.
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A woman live streaming on Facebook says that the man killed by police in North Carolina on Tuesday was her father, and that she believes officers shot him “for being black”.
The North Carolina chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union urged Charlotte police to release any footage of the shooting, but Putney said he couldn’t because of an ongoing investigation.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers were at the complex about 4 p.m. looking for a suspect with an outstanding warrant when they encountered the person – not the suspect they were looking for – inside a auto, the department said in a statement.
Police said they approached the man after he got back into the vehicle.
“He stepped out, posing a threat to the officers, and Officer Brentley Vinson subsequently fired his weapon, striking the subject”, Putney said, adding that police acted heroically in trying to stem the protests that followed. When they approached him, Scott left the auto again, and at least one officer fired.
The black officer who shot Scott has been placed on administrative leave while the shooting is investigated.
Protests broke out after the shooting, resulting in the injury of 16 CMPD officers, Putney said.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (NBC NEWS) – Hundreds of protesters demonstrated in Charlotte, N.C., overnight after police confirmed they had shot and killed a man while they were seeking a different person. Detectives said they recovered a firearm Scott was holding during the shooting and were interviewing witnesses Tuesday night.
Putney, who is also black, claimed police did not find a book at the scene, responding to a spreading theory that a book is all Scott was holding when he was shot dead by police.
Barnett did not immediately name the witness.
The Charlotte case is the latest shooting involving an officer, and racial tensions are high nationwide following a spate of others.
The protesters blocked northbound and southbound lanes on a portion of I-85 in Charlotte.
According to the department, officers had gone to the apartment complex near the University of North Carolina campus when they came upon Scott, who was sitting in his vehicle. Less than 5 miles away, wooden pallets barricaded the entrance of a Wal-Mart that had apparently been looted.
Protests also took place Tuesday in Tulsa, where another black man, Terence Crutcher, was shot by police.
Dozens of protesters gathered on the streets and brought a major highway to a standstill. It appeared at one point the crowds were blocking patrol cars from moving in the street, even climbing on top of them.
The North Carolina Department of Transportation website shows a portion of the highway near UNC Charlotte is closed in both directions.
Putney said police dashcams did record parts of the confrontation and that the videos were being reviewed.
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Lyric’s video went quickly viral – with commenters calling the shooting unjust and posting in support of the Black Lives Matter movement – and helped spark the protests that took over Charlotte Tuesday night.
