Police in Charlotte release video footage

Associated Press

CHARLOTTE, N.C.

Charlotte police released dramatic video footage Saturday that shows officers surrounding a black man with his hands at his side before shots are fired and he buckles to the ground. It’s unclear if there was anything in the man’s hands.

The footage of the police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott was released after several days of demonstrations that coalesced around demands that the public see the video. Police said Scott had a gun, though residents have said he was unarmed.

In the police dashboard camera video released Saturday night, Scott could be seen backing away from his SUV with his hands down, and it’s unclear if there’s anything in his hands. Four shots are heard, and he falls to the ground.

Police also released photos of a gun that they said was retrieved at the scene, adding that it contained Scott’s DNA and fingerprints. They said the gun was loaded and Scott was wearing an ankle holster. They also said Scott had marijuana.

Videos from the dashboard camera and the body camera also show events leading up to the shooting.

The dashboard camera footage starts with two officers pointing their guns at Scott, who is inside the SUV with the doors closed and windows rolled up. Scott gets out and starts walking backward before shots are fired.

From a different angle, police body camera footage shows an officer approach with his gun drawn and another officer already pointing his gun at Scott. When Scott comes into view, he has his hands at his side and is standing outside of his SUV. The body camera footage doesn’t show the moment the shots are fired, and Scott next comes into view already on the ground.

Before releasing the footage, Chief Kerr Putney said at a news conference that he received assurances from the State Bureau of Investigation that letting the public see the video would not impact the state’s independent probe of the shooting.

Asked whether he expected the footage to calm protesters, Putney responded: “The footage itself will not create in anyone’s mind absolute certainty as to what this case represents and what the outcome should be. The footage only supports all of the other information” such as physical evidence and statements from witnesses and officers.