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| Charlotte police chief to release footage of Keith Scott shooting | |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| Charlotte police announced on Saturday that they would release video of the fatal police shooting of Keith Scott, a 43-year-old African American man whose killing precipitated both riots and peaceful protests in North Carolina this week. | |
| At a press conference, Kerr Putney, chief of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg police, explained the delay in releasing the footage, taken by a body camera and dashboard camera, despite days of protests demanding it. | |
| “My priority has been throughout the whole investigative process to maintain the integrity of the investigation,” he said, “because that’s essential, that’s essential in a fact-finding process that leads you to the truth.” | |
| Putney said two independent investigations into the killing would no longer be affected by the release of the video. “We’re releasing evidence,” he said, “that we believe will give you indisputable evidence that the facts we started with are the facts that we’re left with today, based on two independent investigations.” | |
| The police chief insisted that the video evidence would show Scott was in possession of a handgun at the time of his shooting. | |
| “People can interpret anything they want based on one piece of evidence,” Putney said. “What we’re giving out is the most complete puzzle we can without trying the case in public. | |
| “There is no single piece of evidence that proves all of the complexities.” | |
| Putney declined to go into specifics of the case, saying police had cause to approach Scott. “The reason for the encounter is because laws were broken,” he said, adding that “the gun exacerbated” the situation. | |
| “There’s marijuana there that they weren’t focused on it,” he said, “until a gun was produced.” | |
| Police were in the process of trying to apprehend an unrelated suspect, Putney said, when they encountered Scott. He said the video alone was ambiguous and would not resolve all the details of what happened after a confrontation developed. | |
| Putney said that officers involved had acted responsibly, but insisted he would not “try the case” in public. He said officers responded to Scott because they saw him with marijuana and a gun. | |
| “That’s a public safety issue that our officers were going to address,” he said. | |
| On Friday, under the watch of armed national guard troops and after the Scott family released a cellphone video of his encounter with police officers, a fourth night of protests unfolded peacefully. In the immediate aftermath of Scott’s death, such protests turned violent and one protester was killed. | On Friday, under the watch of armed national guard troops and after the Scott family released a cellphone video of his encounter with police officers, a fourth night of protests unfolded peacefully. In the immediate aftermath of Scott’s death, such protests turned violent and one protester was killed. |
| The two-minute video recorded by Scott’s wife, Rakeyia, showed events leading up to the shooting but not the shooting itself. In the video, Rakeyia Scott can be heard pleading with officers to hold their fire as they confront her husband, who is sitting in a parked car outside an apartment complex. | The two-minute video recorded by Scott’s wife, Rakeyia, showed events leading up to the shooting but not the shooting itself. In the video, Rakeyia Scott can be heard pleading with officers to hold their fire as they confront her husband, who is sitting in a parked car outside an apartment complex. |
| Rakeyia Scott can be heard telling officers: “Don’t shoot him! He has no weapon,” as they yell at Scott, “Drop the gun!” She also shouts, “Keith, Keith, don’t do it,” although it is not clear whether she is directing her comments to her husband or police. The footage captures the sound of four shots but does not show Scott being hit. | Rakeyia Scott can be heard telling officers: “Don’t shoot him! He has no weapon,” as they yell at Scott, “Drop the gun!” She also shouts, “Keith, Keith, don’t do it,” although it is not clear whether she is directing her comments to her husband or police. The footage captures the sound of four shots but does not show Scott being hit. |
| “He better not be fucking dead,” Rakeyia Scott shouts. “He better live.” | “He better not be fucking dead,” Rakeyia Scott shouts. “He better live.” |
| On Saturday afternoon, protesters lined the streets of Charlotte, peacefully calling for the tapes. On Friday night, hundreds wound through the streets, led by protesters holding a banner calling on police to “release the tapes”. | |
| Scott, a father of seven, is among a long list of African American men killed in confrontations with law enforcement officers in high-profile cases across the US over the last two years. | |
| The Scott family first contended that Scott was carrying a book, not a gun. After viewing police video on Thursday, the family concluded it was “impossible to discern” what, if anything, Scott was carrying, an attorney representing the family said. | |
| Scott was shot by officer Brentley Vinson, who has been placed on paid administrative leave. Vinson is also black. | |
| The Democratic candidate for president, Hillary Clinton, canceled on Friday a proposed visit to the city, having called for the dashboard and body camera footage to be released. Charlotte mayor Jennifer Roberts publicly asked her to delay her visit, which had been scheduled for Sunday. | |
| In a statement released on Friday explaining the candidate’s decision not to go to North Carolina, the Clinton campaign said: “Hillary is grateful for, and intends to honor, the invitation from faith leaders to visit with the Charlotte community. | In a statement released on Friday explaining the candidate’s decision not to go to North Carolina, the Clinton campaign said: “Hillary is grateful for, and intends to honor, the invitation from faith leaders to visit with the Charlotte community. |
| “After further discussion with community leaders, we have decided to postpone Sunday’s trip as to not impact the city’s resources.” | “After further discussion with community leaders, we have decided to postpone Sunday’s trip as to not impact the city’s resources.” |
| Clinton would visit the city next Sunday instead, the campaign said. | Clinton would visit the city next Sunday instead, the campaign said. |
| Earlier this week, the Republican candidate for president, Donald Trump, said in discussing events in Charlotte Clinton had “supported with a nod” the idea “that cops are a racist force to our society” and thus “shares directly … the responsibility for the unrest that is afflicting our country”. | Earlier this week, the Republican candidate for president, Donald Trump, said in discussing events in Charlotte Clinton had “supported with a nod” the idea “that cops are a racist force to our society” and thus “shares directly … the responsibility for the unrest that is afflicting our country”. |
| Trump also said “drugs are a very, very big factor in what you’re watching on television” from Charlotte, and added that if elected, he would have “no compassion for lawless conduct”. He later denied having made that statement. | |