WIFE RELEASES VIDEO OF COPS SHOOTING HUSBAND
A heart-wrenching cellphone video of the deadly encounter between Charlotte, N.C., police and a 43-year-old black man shows his wife pleading with officers not to shoot her husband as they shout at him to drop a gun, in footage released just hours before protesters hit the streets for a fourth night.
The video, recorded by Keith Lamont Scott’s wife, does not show whether Scott had a gun. Police have said he did, while witnesses say Scott held only a book.
Protesters are demanding that police also release video they have of the confrontation.
Dozens of marchers in Charlotte kept up the call for transparency last night, carrying signs that
read “Just Stop The Killing,” while another had a banner that said, “Just Release the Tapes.” A midnight curfew remains in Charlotte.
Hundreds of protesters also hit the streets in downtown Atlanta last night.
Scott’s wife, Rakeyia Scott, did release a tape that shows her telling officers that her husband had a TBI — or traumatic brain injury — and had just taken his medication. At one point, she urges her husband to get out of the car so police don’t break the windows. She also tells him, “Don’t do it,” but it’s not clear exactly what she means.
As the encounter escalates, she repeatedly urges police, “You better not shoot him.”
After four gunshots, Scott can be seen lying face-down on the ground while his wife says, “He better live,” and asks if an ambulance has been called. The officers stand over Scott. It’s unclear if they are checking him for weapons or attempting to give first aid.
Scott’s wife then states their address and says, “These are the police officers that shot my husband.”
Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton was planning to visit Charlotte tomorrow, according to a campaign aide, but has postponed the trip. Clinton is still calling on Charlotte officials to release the videos of the shooting.
Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts has asked Clinton and Donald Trump to “delay those visits” as the city gets back on its feet. The Clinton campaign did not respond to questions about whether the mayor’s request changed its plans for tomorrow.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police Chief Kerr Putney has said the footage — from at least one police body camera and one dashboard camera — does not show whether Scott had a weapon.
State Attorney General Roy Cooper has called on Charlotte officials to release the video, saying doing so would help bring the community and law enforcement together.
Cooper, a Democrat, is running for governor in November.
Thursday’s protests in Charlotte lacked the violence and property damage of previous nights, and a curfew enacted by the city’s mayor encouraged a stopping point.
Roberts signed documents to keep the curfew in effect from midnight until 6 a.m. each day until the state of emergency declared by the governor ends.
After the curfew took effect, police allowed the crowd of demonstrators to thin without forcing them off the street.
Police Capt. Mike Campagna told reporters that officers would not seek to arrest curfew violators as long as they were peaceful.
Putney said yesterday that releasing the footage of Scott’s death could inflame the situation.