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Charlotte Shooting: What Video Footage Of Keith Scott Shooting Does and Does Not Reveal [Videos]

By Phyllis Asinyanbi
Published on: 05:11 PST, Sep 25, 2016

The Charlotte shooting of Keith Scott has sparked protests in the city and shined, once again, a national spotlight on a police shooting of a black man, which ended in his death. On late Saturday, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department released video footage of the fatal shooting. The day before, Rakeyia Scott, widow of Keith Scott, released a video that showed, in part, the events that led up to the incident.

Before Saturday, CMPD Chief Kerr Putney stated that he would not release the video because he didn’t want to compromise the integrity of the State Police Investigation. Putney also stated that he had the authority to show the video to the family of Keith Scott and had already done this. There is speculation that Putney’s decision to release the footage to the public was a response to Rakeyia Scott posting of her cell phone video.

Warning: The below video contains strong language. Viewer discretion is advised.

An attorney who represents the family stated that the widow of the slain man wanted the public to see the facts surrounding the case; she has made no public appearances since the death of her husband. It should also be noted that not all of the CMPD video was released as Putney stated that it wasn’t relevant to the shooting, per NBC News.

On the CMPD video, Scott is surrounded by officers within seconds of exiting his vehicle. He opens his SUV door, steps out, turns and walks backward with his hands at his side. Four shots ring out, and he falls down. Unfortunately, the quality of the video is not good enough to determine whether Scott is holding a gun in his hands, which has been a claim of Putney throughout the melee that has ensued since the incident. The video does not show the police firing the shots either. It is unclear if the footage has been selectively edited, either in audio or video.

The CMPD, along with releasing the videos, released pictures of a gun, an ankle holster, and a marijuana blunt, which was allegedly in Scott’s possession. Although police were at the apartment complex to serve someone other than Scott with a warrant, officers stated that they could see through Scott’s vehicle window that he had a gun and was rolling a marijuana blunt. This is what, reportedly, precipitated commands for him to exit his vehicle and culminated in the fatal shooting.

Gun CMPD stated that it found at Keith Scott fatal shooting scene. [Image by CMPD]

The video shows Scott getting out of the SUV, then seconds later he is lying in the parking lot. His wife can be heard shouting out in the background, reported the Charlotte Observer. The wife and other family members have stated that Scott did not have a gun and was waiting for one of his children to come home from school. Rakeyia Scott told the police that her husband had a TBI (traumatic brain injury) and was not going to harm them. She also told them that he had just taken his medication.

Warning: The below video is graphic, and viewer discretion is advised.

Video from the dashboard shows a police SUV pull into the parking lot where Keith Scott’s white SUV is parked. An officer in a red shirt can be seen pointing a weapon toward the passenger side of Scott’s vehicle. The tinted windows are rolled up. Scott exits his vehicle at the prompting of his wife as police are about to smash the windows.

The officer who shot Scott, Brentley Vinson, was not wearing a body cam, but another officer at the scene was. This video is from a different vantage point. Scott exits from his SUV and backs away from the police officers, and within seconds, he is shot. This footage does not show the actual shooting either, and neither video shows Scott pointing a gun at police.

At this point, the videos have raised more questions than answers. There is a view of Scott with his right arm by his side. Attorney Justin Bamberg, who represents the Scott family, pointed out that the quality of the footage does not provide clarity for viewers, according to CNN. Bamberg also stated that even if Scott had a gun, justification for the police to shoot and kill would remain questionable.

“You can’t identify what, if anything, is in his hand.”

Community protests in reaction to the Charlotte shooting have continued since the release of the video, and some believe that a release of only some of the videos demonstrates that CMPD is being less than transparent.

[Featured Image by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department]

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