Protests have raged on this week in Charlotte, North Carolina, after Keith Scott (pictured), a 43-year-old Black man, was shot and killed by a police officer outside an apartment complex Tuesday.
Scott’s family says he was shot by a Black police officer outside an apartment as he waited in his parked car for his son to return home from school.
Police, however, say Scott was armed and was wielding a weapon, with the chief of Charlotte- Mecklenburg Police telling the press that officers had found the gun Scott was allegedly holding.
Mr. Scott’s family, however, insists Scott was only holding a book, with his wife, Rakeyia, describing the late-Scott as “a loving husband, father, brother and friend.” Rakeyia added that his death had left the family devastated but called on protesters to remain calm and law-abiding through it all.
Earlier this week, Charlotte City Mayor Jennifer Roberts promised to examine the police dashboard video of the shooting of Scott as he stepped out of his car. Roberts added, however, that she would not be releasing the footage to the public.
In recent months, the United States has been rattled by multiple cases of police killings of African Americans. In response, organizations, such as the Black Lives Matter Movement, have continued to call for justice for the affected victims and have renewed the push for an improved race dialogue that does well to confront the suppressed and underlying issues surrounding race relations in 21st Century America.
Since Scott’s shooting, according to Fox News, the police have faced repeated calls to release the footage of the shooting, with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Kerr Putney admitting, “I think [releasing the footage] is probably the better option right now.”
The decision on whether the police shooting will be released reportedly rests with the State Bureau of Investigation.
Yet Another Black Man Shot
The New York Times reports that 26-year-old Justin Carr (pictured) was shot in the middle of demonstrations that turned violent on Wednesday night.
Law enforcement officials fired tear gas in to the crowd as they struggled to restore order as angry demonstrators protested the latest of what has become a very long list of African-American lives lost to police violence this year alone.
Charlotte city officials issued a statement on social media saying that the gunshot victim, who was on life support, was not hit by a police bullet and described the incident as “civilian on civilian” violence.
The police department also said four of its officers were injured in the ensuing violence. Photos have surfaced online of the victim surrounded by a crowd of fellow protesters as he lay — eyes wide open — in a pool of his own blood.
Justin Carr
A man attends to Justin Carr after he was shot Wednesday during a demonstration.
Carr died in the hospital on Thursday.
Charlotte city officials said that the North Carolina Governor declared a state of emergency, adding that efforts were being put in place to deploy the National Guard and the State Highway Patrol.
African-American activist B.J. Murphy says of the police killings, “Everybody in Charlotte should be on notice that Black people, today, we’re tired of this.
“We’re tired of being killed and nobody saying nothing. We’re tired of our political leaders going along to get along; they’re so weak, they don’t have no sympathy for our grief. And we want justice.”
