Gun ‘had victim’s prints’
REUTERS CHARLOTTE A gun recovered at the scene of the fatal shooting of a black man by police in Charlotte, North Carolina was loaded and had fingerprints matching those of the victim, CNN has reported, after the man’s family released its own video of the encounter.
The family of Keith Scott, whose death has sparked three days of protests, are continuing to urge officials to release their own recordings of the slaying.
The moment when a black police officer shoots Scott, a 43-year-old father of seven, cannot be seen in the two-minute video recorded by his wife, Rakeyia, who can be heard urging officers not to fire.
‘‘Don’t shoot him! He has no weapon,’’ she can be heard telling officers as they yell at her husband, ‘‘Drop the gun!’’.
Several gunshots can be heard in the video, which was released to American media, followed by Rakeyia Scott screaming: ‘‘Did you shoot him? He better not be dead.’’
CNN cited a source close to the investigation as saying the gun had fingerprints, DNA and blood matching Keith Scott’s. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Charlotte-Mecklenberg Police Chief Kerr Putney has said that video taken by police body cameras supports the police version of events, but he has refused to release the video publicly.
Scott’s family initially contended that he was carrying a book, but after viewing the police video on Friday, the family said it was ‘‘impossible to discern’’ what, if anything, he was carrying. No gun can be seen in Rakeyia Scott’s video.
A United Nations working group yesterday recommended that the United States create a reliable national system to track killings and use of excessive force by law enforcement officials, as well as ending the practice of racial profiling.
About 300 protesters took to the streets of Charlotte in a fourth night of demonstrations yesterday, calling on authorities to ‘‘release the tapes’’ of the fatal police shooting.
Protesters gathered after nightfall in a small park, and others chalked the names of police shooting victims from across the country on a street, but there was no sign of the violence that marked demonstrations earlier in the week.
Scott’s death was the latest in a string of police killings of black men in America, which have unleashed protests and riots across the country and led to international criticism of America’s treatment of minor- ities. Over the past two years, protesters have filled streets from Milwaukee to Minneapolis, from Ferguson, Missouri, to Baltimore, and from Dallas to Baton Rouge.
Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts yesterday also called for release of the police videos. ‘‘I do think it would help in terms of transparency.’’
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton added her voice to calls for release of the video ‘‘without delay’’. Clinton initially announced plans to go to Charlotte tomorrow, but yesterday her campaign said the trip had been postponed. Reuters