Wife of Keith Scott, Black Man Killed By Cops in Charlotte, Released a Video of the Shooting

Update:
On Sept. 23, Keith Scott's wife shared a cell phone video that she personally recorded of the shooting with the The New York Times. As a warning, the video contains violence and profanity. Mrs. Scott pleads with officers not to shoot and also says her husband as a traumatic brain injury. While police have maintained that Mr. Scott was carrying a gun, he is not visible enough to determine whether he is holding a weapon — or a book, as his family members have claimed.

Original Story:

Protests erupted on the streets of Charlotte, NC, last night after police shot and killed a black man named Keith Lamont Scott. Officers were serving an arrest warrant to a different man in an apartment complex when they encountered Scott in his car; police and witnesses have given different versions of the events that followed. Here's what else you need to know about the unfolding situation.

1. Police shot Scott on the afternoon of Sept. 20.

At around 4 p.m. on Sept. 20, Charlotte police arrived at an apartment complex searching for a different resident when they saw Scott leave a car with a weapon, according to police accounts reported by The New York Times. Officers said that Scott, 43, got back into the car and that's when they approached him. Then, according to a police department statement, "the subject got back out of the vehicle armed with a firearm and posed an imminent deadly threat to the officers, who subsequently fired their weapon, striking the subject." Scott was shot four times and died at the scene.

Facts from the @CMPD officer-involved shooting investigation: https://t.co/KFh9CpO0zY

— City of Charlotte (@CLTgov) September 21, 2016

However, a Facebook Live video shared by Scott's daughter (which has since been deleted) claimed police shot her father without any warning. Scott's daughter did not see the shooting but suggested the officers were planting evidence since she and other witnesses said Scott was holding a book and waiting for his other child to return from school when he was killed. The daughter could be heard in the video saying, "The police just shot my daddy four times for being black." She, along with other family members, told a local Fox station that Scott had a disability.

On Wednesday, Sept. 21, Charlotte Police Chief Kerr Putney spoke to the press about the shooting and stood by the police account. "Officers were giving loud, clear verbal commands. The suspect exited the vehicle with a handgun, threatening officers," said Putney in a video posted by the Charlotte Observer, adding that officers did not find a book at the scene.

The officer who shot Scott has been identified as Brentley Vinson, a black officer who has served on the force since July 2014, reported the Times. Vinson was placed on administrative leave after the incident, according to CNN, and he was reportedly not wearing a body camera.

John Barnett, a civil rights activist in Charlotte, commented on the shooting during a press conference. "The truth of the matter is, he didn't point that gun," Barnett said, according to the Times. "Did he intend to really sit in a vehicle, waiting on his son to get home from school and then plot to shoot a cop if they pulled up on him?"

2. Protesters clashed with police that night.

On Tuesday evening, protests over the killing erupted, with demonstrators blocking Interstate 85 near the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. The situation grew more tense as protesters clashed with police and began looting. According to the Times, 16 officers sustained minor injuries after demonstrators threw rocks at them; one arrest was made. The police also deployed tear gas during the incident.

Protesters are burning stuff from the trucks now. This is all happening on I-85 @wsoctv pic.twitter.com/82fdCyfCkX

— Joe Bruno (@JoeBrunoWSOC9) September 21, 2016

Protesters are running from the Walmart as Charlotte police arrive. @wsoctv #WakeUpWith9 pic.twitter.com/nNl7xg7dkT

— Mark Barber (@MBarberWSOC9) September 21, 2016

An officer got knocked out with a brick tonight in Charlotte because of the execution of #KeithLamontScott pic.twitter.com/3UXYhz3Jip

— Tariq Nasheed (@tariqnasheed) September 21, 2016

The mayor of Charlotte, Jennifer Roberts, also commented on the shooting and the protests via Twitter, saying, "The community deserves answers and full investigation will ensue."

I will continue to work with our manager & Chief on officer involved shooting. We are reaching out to community to ask for calm.

— Mayor of Charlotte (@CLTMayor) September 21, 2016

The community deserves answers and full investigation will ensue. Will be reaching out to community leaders to work together @CMPD @ncnaacp

— Mayor of Charlotte (@CLTMayor) September 21, 2016

Clt has a proven history of transparency and accountability which we remain fully committed to.

— Mayor of Charlotte (@CLTMayor) September 21, 2016

3. The Justice Department addressed the situation in Charlotte.

Loretta Lynch, the United States attorney general, issued a statement on the incident in Charlotte as well as the recent shooting of an unarmed black man named Terence Crutcher in Tulsa, OK. "The Department of Justice is aware of, and we are assessing, the incident that led to the death of Keith Lamont Scott in Charlotte." Reacting to the protests, Lynch encouraged the demonstrators to exercise their constitutional right to protest but to do so without violence.

4. Social media reacted with outrage.

Many Twitter users were outraged that yet another black man was added to the list of those killed by police and pointed out that North Carolina is an open carry state. Here are some of the most notable messages.

I'm Black. I am 43. I read books. I pick up my kids from school. I am #KeithLamontScott. I just haven't been killed yet. #BlackLivesMatter

— W. Kamau Bell (@wkamaubell) September 21, 2016

Angry & heartbroken and I'm white & privileged. Can't imagine what African Americans feel like tonight. Enough is enough.#KeithLamontScott

— andy lassner (@andylassner) September 21, 2016

If a man can be considered an "imminent threat" for merely holding a "gun" in an open carry state, why allow guns at all? #KeithLamontScott

— April 👉🏾 (@ReignOfApril) September 21, 2016

1. Man in open carry state gets out of car with a gun.
2. Undercover PD jump out.
3. PD shoot him
4. Oh, it was a book.#KeithLamontScott

— David M. Perry (@Lollardfish) September 21, 2016

#KeithLamontScott was the wrong person. Police were looking for someone else.
If he had a gun, it is an open carry state.
Try again

— Eric Guster, Esq (@EricGuster) September 21, 2016

Don't like riots, protests etc? Stop killing unarmed non-threatening civilians. You are not the judge, jury, executioner. #KeithLamontScott

— annie (@southannie) September 21, 2016

Killed in an open carry state which means IF he had a gun, it's within his right. Where are the patriots now? #infuriating #KeithLamontScott

— Gregory G. Allen (@GregoryGAllen) September 21, 2016