CHARLOTTE – (Scroll down for video) — Keith Lamont Scott had committed a crime and was in possession of a gun before he was fatally shot by police, according to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Kerr Putney.
At a news conference Saturday, Putney told reporters the fatal encounter between Scott and police began when officers initially noticed that the 43-year-old was in possession of marijuana – and then noticed he had a gun.
“There was a crime that he had committed that caused the encounter and then the gun exacerbated that encounter,” Putney told reporters. “The reason for the encounter was because laws were broken.”
Putney said he decided to make the video footage showing at least one officer fatally shooting Scott public once he was able to confirm that the release would not adversely affect a subsequent investigation of the shooting being carried out by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation.
Although Putney said he was certain Scott was armed, he told reporters the video was “insufficient” and would not provide solid proof that Scott had a gun.
“There is no definitive visual evidence that he had a gun in his hand and that he pointed it at an officer,” Putney said, before adding that all of the evidence collected by investigators, taken together, proves that Scott had a gun and was a threat to public safety.
Putney said that he has no plans to charge any of the officers involved in the fatal shooting with a crime, but left open the possibility that charges could come from the state investigation.
The release of dashboard and body camera footage follows days of pressure from community activists and protesters hoping to shed light on what occurred in the moments leading up to the shooting, which has been the subject of disagreement between Smith’s family members and police since his death on Tuesday.
Police had previously refused to release the footage, saying it would compromise their investigation.
Hundreds of protesters listened to Putney’s press conference from Marshall Park, near downtown Charlotte where they had gathered earlier in the afternoon for a rally demanding the release of the video tapes.
“We did it, we did it,” protesters chanted.
But for Kayla Jefferson, 24, the matter is not settled. “What does marijuana have to do with it? Why did he mention that?,” she said. She was also suspicious of why the Charlotte police is not releasing all of the videos available. “They’re trying to make him look like a bad guy without releasing all of the information.”
“It sounds like he has already decided the police didn’t do anything wrong, so what’s the point?,” said Darren Trinity, who drove in from Durham, North Carolina, on Friday night to join the protests.
North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory released a statement on Facebook saying he supports Putney’s decision to release video footage.
“I have been assured by the State Bureau of Investigation that the release will have no material impact on the independent investigation since most of the known witnesses have been interviewed,” the statement said. “We have appreciated the ongoing dialogue and team work between state and city officials to seek public transparency while protecting the integrity of the investigation and the rights of all parties involved in this case.”
The release came one day after video shot by Scott’s wife, Rakeyia Scott, showing her pleading with officers not to shoot her 43-year-old husband, was made public.
In the video, Rakeyia Scott can be heard yelling to the officers that her husband was unarmed. “Don’t shoot him,” she says.
The footage shows what happened seconds before and after the shooting but not whether Scott had a gun, as police have claimed.
Officers say Scott pointed a gun at them; Scott’s family has disputed that he was armed and that, if he was, he raised the weapon. While police officials have said the video supports officers’ account, lawyers for Scott’s family – who were allowed to see the video – have said it shows the man complying with officers’ demands and taking a step away from them when he was shot.
Many stores in downtown Charlotte have been closed since violent demonstrations Tuesday evening, and even those that are open are seeing little business or closing early. Late Friday evening, Jane and Robert Clarksen sat on the patio of a Mellow Mushroom pizza restaurant as hundreds of protesters filed by. The restaurant – one of the Clarksens’ favorites – is usually packed, but the couple, who have lived in Charlotte for more than 10 years, were among the only customers.
“It’s as if Charlotte isn’t Charlotte,” said Jane Clarkson, a retired chef. “I just don’t know what to think about it all.”
“Release the tapes. Release the tapes,” was a popular refrain Friday evening as hundreds of protesters spent hours snaking their way through downtown, continuing to demonstrate hours past the city’s midnight curfew. Police officers on bicycles watched, directing traffic away from major highways, and National Guard troops stood in front of major city markers, including Bank of America Stadium, the home of the Carolina Panthers.
Near the back of the crowd Friday was Snowden Littlejohn, a lifelong Charlotte resident. She was on a double date with her husband, eating dinner downtown when they saw protesters come by and decided to join in.
“We wanted to show our support to the community,” said Littlejohn, who is white. “White people are afraid to come down. [But] I don’t want to turn a blind eye to it. It is important that we are here.”
Unlike the early days of protests, when demonstrators broke windows and police arrested dozens of people, marches over the past two evenings have remained relatively calm. However, police said they arrested 11 people during the protests that had taken place since Friday, including for breaking the curfew and disorderly conduct.
Several local clergy members, who wore yellow ribbons on their arms to distinguish themselves, say that after the initial violence they are focused on defusing any potential conflicts.
“It’s not enough for me to be in the pulpit,” said Byron Davis, leader of Liberation Ministries in Charlotte. “We’re here where Jesus would be.”
(c) 2016, The Washington Post · Renae Merle, Wesley Lowery, Peter Holley
GRAPHIC VIDEO: part of the dash-cam video released by @CMPD #KeithScott @TWCNewsCLT pic.twitter.com/fGAYdQpiAs
— Christina Watkins (@CWatkinsTV) September 24, 2016
