Charlotte police chief says he won’t release shooting videos
Marchers take to the streets for a third night to protest killing
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Protesters massed on Charlotte’s streets for a third night Thursday in the latest sign of mounting pressure for police to release video that could resolve wildly different accounts of the shooting of a black man.
Demonstrators chanted “release the tape” and “we want the tape” while briefly blocking an intersection near Bank of America headquarters and later climbing the steps in front of the city government center. Still, the protests remained peaceful in the hours after night fell — and a midnight curfew imposed by the mayor aimed to add a firm stopping point for the demonstrations.
Members of the National Guard carrying rifles were also deployed in front of office buildings to head off another night of violence in this city on edge.
So far, police have resisted releasing police dashcam and body camera footage of the death of 43-year Keith Lamont Scott earlier this week. His family was shown the footage Thursday and demanded that police release it to the public. The family’s lawyer said he couldn’t tell whether Scott was holding a gun.
But Charlotte-Mecklenburg police Chief Kerr Putney said earlier in the day that releasing the footage of Scott’s killing could undermine the investigation. He told reporters the video will be made public when he believes there is a “compelling reason” to do so.
“You shouldn’t expect it to be released,” Putney said. “I’m not going to jeopardize the investigation.”
Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts waited until Thursday’s protests were underway for more than an hour before signing documents for the citywide curfew that runs from midnight to 6 a.m. The curfew will last for multiple days until officials determine the emergency has passed.
In an interview with CNN, Roberts said she thought the curfew was the most effective way to maintain peace in the city.
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, on Thursday, prosecutors charged a white officer with manslaughter for killing an unarmed black man on a city street last week.