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Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Charlotte Police Release Shooting Video

(CN) - Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Kerr Putney said in a news conference Saturday that the department has decided to release video footage showing officers fatally shooting Keith Lamont Scott, the black man whose violent death has sparked heated protests throughout the city.

The release of dashboard and body camera footage follows days of pressure from the ACLU community activists and protesters video public is the only way to end the ongoing controversy stemming from markedly different accounts of what happened from police and Scott's family.

As Chief Putney reiterated Saturday, the police insist that Scott was "absolutely in possession of a handgun."

However, the dead man's family say he only had a book in his hand and posed no threat to anyone when he was shot.

A video shot by Scott's wife and released by his family on Friday was inconclusive.

Prior to Saturday, Putney had said the release of the footage would hinder the ongoing investigation of the shooting. But at an afternoon news conference he said he's now decided the release would have "no adverse impact on the investigation."

He also said physical evidence would be released.

"These are tough times for our city and we're going to get through it," he said.

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