Body camera use is questioned in Charlotte killing

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The fatal shooting of a black man by a police officer in Charlotte is only the latest shooting to raise questions about how the department uses body cameras.

Six people were fatally shot since body cameras were given to all patrol officers about a year ago. But the officers who fired the fatal shots in five of those cases — including Keith Lamont Scott’s — weren’t using the cameras.

The weekend release of police footage showing the shooting of Scott left questions in many people’s minds — including whether he was holding a gun. Scott’s family said he didn’t have a weapon. The footage includes body camera video from another officer but not the black officer who fatally wounded Scott.

The gun recovered at the scene of Scott’s shooting had been stolen and later sold to Scott, a Charlotte-Mecklenburg police source told The Associated Press on Monday.

Scott’s family and advocacy groups complain the department divulged only about three minutes of footage from two cameras. They have urged the police department to release all other video footage it has, as well as audio recordings of communications that could clarify how the situation unfolded.

Police Chief Kerr Putney has said the officer who shot Scott wasn’t wearing a body camera that day because he’s part of a tactical unit.