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Police in Charlotte on Saturday they released two videos of the shooting of Keith Lamont Scott, the 43-year-old man whose death after a confrontation with officers set off violent riots this week.
A dash cam video shows officers yelling at Scott, who is sitting in his parked white car, to “drop the gun!” as his wife pleads in the background with police not to shoot. Scott, wearing bright blue pants and a black shirt, slowly exits and for a moment faces police before turning around and slowly walking backward.
The video, shot from an angle, doesn’t clearly show Scott’s hands. A blurry, partially soundless body camera video shows the shooting from another angle, with Scott standing one moment as officers rush toward him. He then appears on the ground seconds later as officers yell, “hand cuffs!” Another officer shouts for his “equipment” and gloves to “hold the wound.” Scott can be heard moaning as his wife yells at police in the background.
In both videos, it’s unclear if Scott is holding a gun. Police also released photos of a gun they said they recovered from Scott. They also released photos of an ankle holster they said he was wearing and a marijuana blunt they said he had with him.
The videos along with photos "explain what I believe are the absolute facts," Chief Kerr Putney said at a news conference.
Putney called Scott's shooting a "complex case" and said his death was a "tragic loss of life." He added that the Police Department’s understanding of events is based upon multiple pieces of evidence — DNA, witness interviews and the videos.
"There is no single piece of evidence that proves all the complexities involved in this investigative process," he said.
Police were in a parking lot in northeast Charlotte looking for a criminal suspect — not Scott — when they noticed him with marijuana, Putney said. Officers were initially inclined to ignore the marijuana, though it is illegal in North Carolina, but then saw a gun and engaged with Scott, Putney said.
“When they see the weapon and they see marijuana, they say 'uh-oh, this is a safety issue,’" the chief said, describing the moments before the confrontation that led to Scott's death. Police say they told Scott to drop the gun and that he did not. Police had not previously disclosed the detail about marijuana.
Scott’s family, which has released its own cellphone video of the shooting on Thursday, has said Scott was unarmed. The family has called for the release of the police tapes, which it contends are inconclusive about whether he had a gun. The family video, shot by Scott’s wife, does not clearly show Scott in the car and a gun does not appear in it.
Putney said the videos show "no definitive visual evidence" that Scott had a gun. However, “based on the totality of what we see, he absolutely was in possession of a handgun," Putney said,referencing the video and additional evidence.
"It was not lawful for [Scott] to possess a firearm. There was a crime he committed and the gun exacerbated the situation," Putney said.
Putney, as recently as Friday had refused to release videos of the shooting, citing his desire to not affect an ongoing investigation by the State Bureau of Investigations. He said Saturday that he was now confident that things were "at a stage that [he] can release additional information without adversely impacting their investigation."
Speaking to reporters in Charlotte, the chief said his decision was not influenced by protests that have taken place daily, in which demonstrators have chanted, "Release the tapes!" downtown and by the police headquarters. Those protests continued Saturday afternoon.
He also said the decision was not a reaction to the video released Friday by Scott's wife, in which she pleads for police to not shoot her husband and tells them he is unarmed before shots are heard. In the the wife's video, she tells police Scott had taken medicine and had a traumatic brain injury. Family has said Scott was reading a book and waiting for his son to get off a school bus.
The videos are not all the videos police have, Putney said. Additional videos will be released after investigations are complete.
He also said he was aware that police "had some work to do" to improve relations with the community. "I know there is some distrust. We have been working on that diligently for quite a while now but obviously there is more work to be done," he said.
"In the spirit of transparency, you are going to get everything we can deliver: facts, footage and an explanation of where we stand today relative to the investigation," Putney said.
On Saturday, North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory issued a statement saying he supported the release.
"As governor of North Carolina, I concur with the Charlotte police chief's decision to release the tapes. 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. We have appreciated the ongoing dialogue and teamwork 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 Republican governor said.
In statements made this week, Charlotte's mayor, Jennifer Roberts, has also supported the videos' release.
jaweed.kaleem@latimes.com
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UPDATES:
4:15 pm.: This article has been updated with details from the videos released by police.
3:05 p.m.: This article has been updated with additional details and quotes from Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Kerr Putney.
2:00 p.m.: This article has been updated with staff reporting.
1:50 p.m.: This article has been updated with additional information and quotes.
This article was originally published at 1:40 p.m.
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