Justin Bamberg, Keith Lamont Scott Family Lawyer: ‘Immediately Release’ Videos, ‘More Questions Than Answers’ [Updated]

Update 5:50 p.m. ET September 23: MSNBC has shared new video that calls into question whether the object in the CNN image is actually a gun, and whether it was present immediately following the shooting of Keith Scott.

Update 1:25 a.m. ET September 23: CNN has shared an image of what is purported to be a gun at the scene of the Keith Lamont Scott shooting, via WSOC.

Original Article: Justin Bamberg, the lawyer representing the family of Keith Lamont Scott, a 43-year-old black man who was gunned down by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Officer Brentley Vinson three nights ago, has made statements after Scott’s relatives viewed two videos of the shooting death earlier today, as reported by the Charlotte Observer.

The Observer wrote that “two narratives” are being told of the circumstances surrounding the Scott shooting. Family members and other witnesses have stated that Scott was waiting for his son to come home from school while reading a book, while Charlotte police have insisted that the disabled parent was armed with a handgun and posed an immediate threat, as previously reported by the Inquisitr.

One of the videos viewed by Justin Bamberg was reported to have been shot with a body cam, while the other came from dash cam footage. The lawyer described Keith Lamont Scott possessing a “calm and non-aggressive demeanor” in the videos.

“While police did give him several commands,” Bamberg was quoted by the Observer, “he did not aggressively approach them or raise his hands at members of law enforcement at any time.”

Bamberg stated that the family of Keith Lamont Scott has “more questions than answers” after viewing the videos.

“The Scott family asks that the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department publicly immediately release both of the videos they watched today,” Justin Bamberg said, echoing the sentiments of protesters who marched through downtown Charlotte Thursday evening, chanting “release the tapes,” as reported by the Inquisitr.

Heavy reports that Justin Bamberg “often” represents the families of shooting victims and that the lawyer wished to make known that the family had disavowed “rioting in response” to the shooting. Bamberg also serves in the South Carolina House of Representatives and represents the families of Walter Scott, Alton Sterling, and Kouren-Rodney Bernard Thomas.

The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation has been reported to have initiated an inquiry into the Keith Lamont Scott shooting, as is mandated by the state when the family member of a person shot by an on-duty police officer requests it. Twenty-four agents with the bureau were reported to be on the scene of the shooting by late Thursday.

Other conflicting reports, including that the officer who shot Scott was white, and not black, as Officer Vinson is reported to be, and that he was holding a book and not a gun, do not appear to have been addressed in the statements by Bamberg.

“It is impossible to discern from the videos what, if anything, Mr. Scott is holding in his hands,” Bamberg was quoted by CNN about the videos.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Kerr Putney has reportedly maintained his stance that the two videos will not be made public. The chief was quoted earlier stating a belief that when the entire body of evidence is considered as a whole, the video footage of Scott’s shooting, as well as other, perhaps yet-to-be-revealed evidence, it was clear that the use of lethal force was necessary.

“When he was shot and killed, Mr. Scott’s hands were by his side and he was slowly walking backwards,” Justin Bamberg was reported to state with regard to Keith Lamont Scott’s behavior when he was shot, seemingly in contradiction to the chief’s assertion. The lawyer has also stated that Scott did not own a gun.

Something both the Charlotte police chief and Justin Bamberg appear to agree on is that the videos, which could conceivably never be made public, do not contain a clear view of Keith Lamont Scott’s hands when he was shot, making it impossible to know if he was holding a book, as family and eyewitnesses claim, or a handgun, as police claim.

Keith Lamont Scott was reported to be the father of seven children and to have been married to Rakeyia Scott for over 20 years.

“Either he sat in his truck there, or he sat up when it was time to get the kids off the bus. But he walked with a book, he sat in his car, quiet man,” one of Scott’s neighbors stated when asked about the shooting victim, as reported by Heavy.

[Featured Image by Brian Blanco/Getty Images]