Police in North Carolina shot and killed a black man they said was armed outside an apartment complex in Charlotte on Tuesday, setting off violent protests that continued late into the night.
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The new legislation is just the latest national controversy over equity and civil rights to develop out of North Carolina. The civilian is on life support and in critical condition, but he’s alive.
Hundreds of people took to the streets near the apartment complex in the North Carolina city where Keith Lamont Scott, 43, was shot and killed.
The killing inflamed racial tensions in a city that seemed to have steered clear of the troubles that engulfed other places.
Later in the night, some protesters set fires blocking a major road, according to news reports.
They shouted “black lives matter” and “hands up; don’t shoot” while cursing at officers with bicycles blocking intersections in Charlotte’s flashy and vibrant downtown. Police kept their distance for about an hour, but officers in riot gear moved in as the marchers approached an upscale hotel. “We’ve been very patient, but now they’ve become very aggressive, throwing bottles and so forth, at my officers, so it’s time for us now to restore order”.
But not all the marchers left.
Police then unleashed volleys of rubber bullets, tear gas and flash-bang grenades to disperse the protesters, who began hurling fireworks and debris at officers outside the hotel.
The Observer said a woman who identified herself in a live stream as Scott’s daughter said Scott was reading a book in his vehicle while waiting for his son’s school bus and was not armed. Others broke into a nearby Wal-Mart. Authorities used tear gas to break up the protests. “Any violence directed toward our citizens or police officers or destruction of property should not be tolerated”, he said in a statement. Now, at least one person has been shot. Witnesses say that Scott was unarmed and had a disability.
That shooting was a result of “civilian-on-civilian violence”, Bruno reported, citing a Charlotte city councilwoman. Kerr Putney, the chief of police, said Scott had a gun in his hand when he was shot.
Putney said police recovered a gun and found no book at the scene.
After calling to “make America safe again” in a tweet, Trump suggested later Wednesday that the Tulsa officer who shot Crutcher had “choked”.
Police blocked off streets, and some protesters yelled and pointed at them, but officers did not react.
Putney said Wednesday that the department won’t release any footage until a police investigation is complete. No cellphone video has emerged on social media, as happened in other cases around the country.
News reports said the officer involved in the shooting, Brentley Vinson, has been put on paid leave. Texas records showed he was convicted of evading arrest with a vehicle in 2005, and several months later, of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. And it’s perpetuated against people of colour more than anything else.
Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Chief Kerr Putney said his department is trying to be as transparent and open as possible with the investigation into the deadly officer-involved shooting Tuesday afternoon, but he said they can not release the video that may show the circumstances around the shooting. Last August, a North Carolina judge declared a mistrial after four days of jury deliberation, and authorities opted not to pursue a retrial. By early Wednesday, demonstrators had shut down traffic on Interstate 85.
Scott, a husband and father of seven, was killed on Tuesday afternoon.
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Relatives of Scott have alleged that he was not carrying a gun during his encounter with the police.
