Protests continued in Charlotte on Wednesday night, following the fatal, officer-involved shooting of Keith Scott. It was originally reported that a protester had died in Uptown Charlotte after being shot, but this was later retracted and we learned that the person was in critical condition. CMPD says that the shooting was civilian on civilian, but there conflicting reports on social media.
James helped @BreeNewsome remove Confederate flag in SC RT @ShaunKing: Important eyewitness account from tonight. pic.twitter.com/tDOVWNmsKe
— Rhiannon Fionn (@RhiFionn) September 22, 2016
At a press conference Thursday morning, CMPD police chief Kerr Putney furthered this speculation, stating that they are still trying to figure out if a CMPD officer was involved in the shootting.
Putney also opened up a firestorm of controversy when he revealed that the footage of Scott’s shooting would be shown to his family, not the public. He said that he said “transparency,” not “full transparency” in the investigation. Yes. These were his real words.
Charlotte Police Chief on not releasing the #KeithLamontScott video: “I never said full transparency. I said transparency.” pic.twitter.com/kZnN03MU7u
— Mic (@mic) September 22, 2016
Another huge fact that Putney dropped during the presser was that the video does not definitively show Scott pointing a gun toward officers.
Several other civilians and officers were also injured during the protests Wednesday night. North Carolina’s governor, Pat McCrory, declared a State of Emergency for the city and National Guard troops are set to be deployed.
State of emergency declared, governor calls in state National Guard for Charlotte protests https://t.co/pB42lW3j8D pic.twitter.com/zkwYmclwMz
— CNN (@CNN) September 22, 2016
Also on Thursday, a woman who says she saw the shooting, told media outlets that Scott did not have a gun, and that the office who shot Scott was white, not black – alleging a cover-up.
Much of this story has been reported by social media, with those out in the protests documenting everything.
A photo posted by The Charlotte Observer (@charlotteobserver) on
A photo posted by Brandon McLain (@britneys_weave) on
Protests and acts of solidarity have been held in universities across the state.
The Revolution will not be televised ✊🏾 #NCAT pic.twitter.com/NaV8UgA3mv
— Nikon Icon (@TrademarkJuice) September 22, 2016
An image that’s worth a thousand words ✊🏼✊🏽✊🏾✊🏿 #UNCC pic.twitter.com/lEeosaYhnU
— Fer. (@FeerNav) September 21, 2016
We’ll keep you updated on the latest developments coming out of Charlotte as they are available.
