The president’s appeal for peace comes after two nights of violent protests in Charlotte after officers shot and killed Keith Lamont Scott, a black man who police say was armed.
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Keith Lamont Scott, 43, was shot and killed when police were serving an arrest warrant at an apartment complex where he was parked in his vehicle.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police Chief Kerr Putney said that officers gave the man multiple verbal warnings to drop his weapon before he was shot.
An attorney for the family of Keith Lamont Scott said Thursday night that, after viewing videos taken by police dashboard and body cameras, Scott’s wife and other family members want those videos released to the public immediately.
On Wednesday morning Charlotte-Mecklenburg police chief Kerr Putney announced that he would honor the family’s request to view the video, but would not release it to the public yet. It is not known when the family will view the shooting video, only that they will see it sometime Thursday.
After peaceful protests quickly turned into violent riots in uptown Wednesday night, Bamberg said the family is asking protesters to remain calm and to stop the rioting.
Officer Brentley Vinson, who shot and killed Scott, was not wearing a body camera at the time of the shooting. Angry demonstrators demanding justice for Scott have looted businesses, damaged property and injured officers, police said.
Multiple police cameras captured what happened on Tuesday, when Scott stepped out of his auto and was shot dead by a police officer.
Police fired tear gas and non-lethal projectiles to break up crowds that blocked traffic on a highway.
“We’ve seen videos leaked online about individuals losing their lives before the family has the opportunity to sometimes even find out”, Bamberg said. But, he said, it does not clearly show Scott pointing the gun at anyone. Protesters have rushed police in riot gear at a downtown Charlotte. “Without the video to document what actually happened, we have no way of knowing the truth”.
The family says: Scott did not have a gun and was reading a book. Police issued several commands, he said, but Scott “did not aggressively approach them or raise his hands at members of law enforcement at any time”.
The authorities have so far resisted mounting pressure to release police video of the incident, saying it would harm the investigation’s integrity.
“The policy has been that until all the piece of evidence are in place, until the witnesses have been interviewed, until we can gather a full picture, that we are not releasing that”, she said. Police said Scott refused repeated demands to drop his gun.
Video shows a man fleeing from attackers as racial tensions hit boiling point.
“I haven’t looked at his medical records, but at the end of the day he was disabled”, Bamberg said.
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However, it was unclear if he was holding a gun, as police say.
