U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has postponed a trip planned for Sunday to Charlotte, North Carolina, which has seen sometimes violent protests after a black man was killed by police earlier this week. Four quick gunshots are heard, at which point the phone is pointing away from the shooting.
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Friday’s march through Charlotte’s business district was the fourth night of demonstrations over the shooting of Keith Lamont Scott earlier in the week. “Drop the gun.” A police auto with lights flashing arrives, obscuring the video’s view, and a uniformed officer gets out.
CNN quoted a source close to the Charlotte investigation as saying a loaded gun had been recovered at the scene and fingerprints, DNA and blood on it matched Scott’s.
Protesters told Channel 2’s Tom Jones they want police to release their video of the shooting.
Several people wrote the names of victims of police shootings across the country in chalk on a Charlotte street, as armed National Guard troops stood by.
Police Chief Kerr Putney told reporters Friday that at least one body camera and one dashboard camera recorded footage of the shooting.
The wife then called 911 to report on the officers who shot her husband. But some witnesses and family members say Scott, who had suffered from a previous traumatic brain injury, did not have a gun and instead was holding a book. Police can be heard shouting at Scott to drop a gun as his wife pleads with police and her husband.
At one point, she tells her husband to get out of the auto so that police will not break the windows.
Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts said in an interview with CNN that Clinton and Trump should delay their trips to the city since the city’s security resources are stretched thin after nights of protests.
“I know the expectation is that video footage can be the panacea and I can tell you that is not the case”, he said. “I’m going to record, though”, Mrs Scott said.
Moments later, Scott is seen lying face down on the asphalt surrounded by officers.
Even former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) said that “maybe we could resolve this thing a little faster” if the video were made public.
A protester shot by a civilian in Wednesday night’s protests died in hospital on Thursday, local media reported.
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During the same news conference, Roberts said she believes the video should be released, but “the question is on the timing”.
