Chief Says Officers Recovered Gun From Man Fatally Shot By Police In Charlotte
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Kerr Putney said officers recovered a gun that they say a man had when he was shot and killed by an officer.
Putney said at a news conference Wednesday that 43-year-old Keith Lamont Scott had a gun, but no book when officers searched him and his vehicle. He also said officers gave Scott multiple warnings to drop the gun before fatally shooting him.
"I can tell you a weapon was seized," Putney said. "I can tell you we did not find a book."
A woman claiming to be Scott's daughter said in a video posted on Facebook that her father was unarmed and had a book, not a gun.
Putney said that officers were searching for a suspect Tuesday when they saw Scott exit a vehicle with the handgun. He said the officers told him to drop the gun and that he got out of the vehicle a second time still carrying the gun.
Putney said Scott was shot because he posed a threat. He said officers requested medical help and performed CPR on Scott.
The chief said the black officer who shot Scott, Brently Vinson, was not wearing a body camera. Putney said he cannot release body camera and dashboard camera video from other officers because of the ongoing investigation.
He said the officer has been placed on administrative leave while the shooting is investigated.
Violent protests erupted in Charlotte Tuesday over the shooting. Protesters blocked Interstate 85 and television footage showed some apparently looting semi-trucks and setting their contents on fire.
A police was also vandalized and a Wal-Mart had apparently been looted.
Police released tear gas on the crowd, who hurled rocks and bottles at officers. The chief said 16 officers sustained minor injuries during protests and that one person was arrested.
Putney said Wednesday he hoped a thorough explanation of the incident will help calm the city.
"It's time to change the narrative," he said. "The story is a little bit different than it's been portrayed so far."
At a news conference later Wednesday morning, civil rights activist John C. Barnett, who said he was speaking on behalf of the family, said Scott was waiting at the bus stop for his kid when officers approached him.
He said the Scott shooting was part of a larger pattern of injustice, CBS News reported.
B.J. Murphy, an outspoken leader of the Nation of Islam, also called for an economic boycott of Charlotte in response to the shooting, saying if black lives don't matter, black money shouldn't matter.
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