Amid heavy pressure from the national media, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police released the body and dash cam video showing the killing of Keith Lamont Scott. Scott, a black man, was killed Tuesday by police officer Bentley Vinson, who was also black. Protests have been ongoing since Tuesday in Charlotte and Elon News Network sent a team there to report on the protests, which started peacefully but soon turned to chaos and another shooting.
Protests in Marshall Park on Tuesday began with conversation, raising signs, and lighting candles to remember Scott. But later in the night, a protest group started marching down East 3rd Street. The protesters blocked traffic but remained peaceful. But in other parts of Charlotte, protesters were seen damaging buildings' windows, parked cars and even starting fires. Retailers and stores, including the Charlotte Hornets' team store, were looted. Since then, North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory declared a state of emergency and called in the National Guard to assist police. Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts has also enacted a midnight-6 a.m curfew.
Protests since then have been relatively peaceful, and according to Charlotte-Mecklenburg police, most of the demonstrators arrested had out-of-state ID’s. Originally, CMPD refused to release the videos, saying that they would jeopardize the integrity of the investigation. But after Scott’s wife released her personal cellphone footage showing her husband’s death, CMPD published their footage to video outlets.
The protests in Charlotte come on the footsteps on another controversial police shooting in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Terrence Crutcher, a 40-year old black man, was shot and killed by white police officer Betty Shelby. Shelby has since been charged with first degree manslaughter.
Kailey Tracey, Paige Pauroso and Andrew Feather contributed reporting.