Keith Lamont Scott Shooting: Third Night of Protests in Charlotte
The city of Charlotte, North Carolina, has been rocked by protests for a third night after African-American Keith Lamont Scott was shot dead by a black police officer on September 20.
September 22 protest was largely peaceful after violence a day earlier during which one person was fatally shot.
Keith Lamont Scott’s family dispute police allegations he was armed and want video recording to be released.
Excessive police force used against black men has been the subject of protests for two years across the US.
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On September 20, Keith Lamont Scott was killed in Charlotte after police say he refused to drop a gun he was carrying. His family say he was unarmed and holding a book.
Police have released a video of the shooting to the family, but have refused to make it public.
The family’s lawyer, Justin Bamberg, said no gun was visible in the video and Keith Lamont Scott appeared to be “acting calm”.
“You do see something in his hand, but it’s impossible to make out from the video what it is.”
Police chief Kerr Putney said the video proved the shooting was justified, telling Fox news: “The officer perceived his failure to comply with commands, failure to drop the weapon and facing the officers as an imminent threat.”
On September 22, demonstrators protesting against Keith Lamont Scott’s death defied a curfew put into force by the city’s mayor on the same day – running from midnight to 06:00.
Cpt. Mike Campagna said officers did not enforce the curfew as protests were largely peaceful, with some on the street singing gospel songs.
However, Charlotte police reported two officers were injured.
Hundreds of National Guard troops were deployed on the streets of Charlotte to protect the city against further violence and property damage.
It followed September 21 protest during which protesters smashed windows of hotels and restaurants, set fires, and attacked reporters.
Peaceful demonstrations took place in the aftermath of last week’s shooting in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
On September 22, Officer Betty Shelby was charged with manslaughter for shooting unarmed African-American Terence Crutcher.
Prosecutors said Betty Shelby’s decision to shoot Terence Crutcher was “unreasonable”.
Video of the Tulsa incident shows Terence Crutcher with his hands up, leaning against the car.
Betty Shelby said Terence Crutcher had not followed her commands and she had opened fire when he began to reach into his car window.
As well as being shot, Terence Crutcher was also struck with a stun gun by another officer.
Betty Shelby’s lawyer, Scott Wood, has said she believed Terence Crutcher was under the influence of the synthetic drug PCP. A vial of the drug was found in the car.
Terence Crutcher’s family have disputed Betty Shelby’s claim, arguing that his window was closed at the time of the incident.
Police have said no gun was found on Terence Crutcher or inside his vehicle.
The DoJ has also opened a separate investigation to see if Terence Crutcher’s civil rights were violated.
Officer Betty Shelby faces a minimum of four years in prison.
After the charge, a small group of demonstrators gathered in Tulsa to demand a harsher sentence.