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Charlotte's family releases the dramatic video of the shooting

The Family Of The African- American Man Whose Death Has Triggered Days Of Unrest In Charlotte, North Carolina, Released A Dramatic Video Of The Police Shooting On Friday, Raising Pressure On The Authorities To Make Their Own Footage Public. The Police Have Refused To Release Body-cam And Dash-cam Video Of The Shooting Tuesday, Which They Say Shows Keith Lamont Scott Posed Officers A Threat.

PTI | Updated on: 24 Sep 2016, 04:56:36 PM
Representative Image (Getty)

Charlotte:

The family of the African- American man whose death has triggered days of unrest in Charlotte, North Carolina, released a dramatic video of the police shooting on Friday, raising pressure on the authorities to make their own footage public. The police have refused to release body-cam and dash-cam video of the shooting Tuesday, which they say shows Keith Lamont Scott posed officers a threat.

His death is the latest in a string of police-involved killings of black men that have fueled outrage across America. Charlotte has been rocked by three nights of violence-marred protests, prompting the governor to declare a state of emergency in the southern US city.

Hundreds of protesters were out again yesterday calling for the release of the videos amid a greater presence of National Guard troops, but the atmosphere was calmer than during previous days. A curfew beginning at midnight is in effect for a second night after protesters defied the order on Thursday.

Hundreds of demonstrators were also marching in the southern city of Atlanta in a protest calling for police reform organized by the NAACP, the black community’s main civil rights organization. Charlotte’s case has also touched the US presidential race, with Democrat Hillary Clinton’s campaign announcing her plan to visit the city on Sunday before postponing it to a week later after Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts asked both major candidates to delay visits, citing “very stretched resources for security.”

Clinton weighed in about the video issue earlier Friday, tweeting that police should release its footage “without delay.” President Barack Obama called for understanding as he celebrated the opening of the Smithsonian’s African American museum in Washington this weekend. The museum “allows all of us as Americans to put our current circumstances in a historical context,” the first black US president said.

Scott was shot and killed during a parking lot encounter with police searching for another person wanted for arrest. The police say he had a handgun. His family says he was holding a book.

The two minutes and 16 seconds of smartphone footage filmed by Rakeyia Scott, released by her lawyers to AFP and other news media, does not show the shooting itself—and does not conclusively answer the question of whether he was armed—but captures the moments surrounding it as she pleads with officers not to open fire. “Don’t shoot him, he has no weapon! He has no weapon! Don’t shoot him!” she is heard saying.

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First Published : 24 Sep 2016, 04:39:00 PM

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