Charlotte (US): Video of a deadly encounter between Charlotte police and a black man shows his wife repeatedly telling officers he is not armed and pleading with them not to shoot her husband as they shout commands to drop a gun.
The video, recorded by Keith Lamont Scott's wife and posted Friday by The New York Times, does not establish whether Scott had a gun. The 2 ½-minute video does not show the shooting, though gunshots can be heard.
Video courtesy: Associated Press
Scott's wife tells officers that he has a traumatic brain injury. At one point, she tells her husband to get out of the car so police don't break the windows. As the encounter escalates, she tells them repeatedly, "You better not shoot him."
After the gunshots, Scott can be seen lying on the ground while his wife says "he better live." She continues recording and asks if an ambulance has been called as officers stand over Scott. It is not clear if they are checking Scott, who appears to be lying on his chest, for weapons or attempting to give first aid.
The video emerged after a third night of protests over the shooting gave way to quiet streets as a curfew enacted by the city's mayor ended early today.
The largely peaceful yesterday night demonstrations in the city's business district were watched over by rifle-toting members of the National Guard.
Protesters called on police to release video that could resolve wildly different accounts of the shooting earlier this week. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Kerr Putney said Friday that there is footage from at least one police body camera and one dashboard camera.
The family of Scott, 43, was shown the footage Thursday and demanded that police release it to the public. The video recorded by Scott's wife had not been previously released. Demonstrators chanted "release the tape" and "we want the tape" Thursday while briefly blocking an intersection near Bank of America headquarters and later climbing the steps to the door of the city government center. Later, several dozen demonstrators walked onto an interstate highway through the city, but they were pushed back by police in riot gear.
Charlotte is the latest U.S. City to be shaken by protests and recriminations over the death of a black man at the hands of police, a list that includes Baltimore, Milwaukee, Chicago, New York and Ferguson, Missouri. In Tulsa, Oklahoma, yesterday, prosecutors charged a white officer with manslaughter for killing an unarmed black man on a city street last week.
