A video has been released showing the moments before and after the fatal shooting of an African American man by police in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The footage shows the wife of Keith Lamont Scott repeatedly telling officers he is not armed and pleading with them not to shoot her husband as they shout at him to drop a gun.
The video, recorded by Scott’s wife and released Friday by his family, does not indicate whether Scott had a gun. Scott’s wife, Rakeyia Scott, tells officers in the video that he has a TBI, or traumatic brain injury.
At one point, she tells her husband to get out of the car so police don’t break the windows. She also tells him, “don’t do it,” but it’s not clear exactly what she means. As the encounter escalates, she repeatedly urges police, “You better not shoot him.”
After the fatal shooting, Scott can be seen lying on the ground while his wife says “he better live.” She continues recording and asks if an ambulance has been called as several officers stand over her husband.
Below is the video of the shooting. Viewer discretion is advised because the footage contains images and expletives which some viewers may find disturbing.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Kerr Putney said Friday that there is also footage from at least one police body camera and one dashboard camera.
Protesters have taken to the streets of Charlotte for a fourth consecutive night, demanding the release of police footage.
Protesters say the release of the police footage can resolve the wildly different accounts of the shooting. But Putney said Friday that releasing the footage of Scott’s death could inflame tensions.
Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts said the curfew that was imposed on Thursday night in Charlotte will go into effect from midnight until 6 am each day until the state of emergency declared by the governor ends.
Charlotte is the latest US city to be shaken by protests and recriminations over the death of a black man at the hands of police.
On Thursday, prosecutors in Tulsa, Oklahoma, charged a white female officer with manslaughter for killing an unarmed black man on a roadway last week.