Nightly protests continue in the wake of the officer-involved shooting death of Keith Lamont Scott in Charlotte, North Carolina. Police have not released bodycam footage of the incident — and they may never do so — but NBC News has obtained footage of the moments leading up to Scott’s shooting by an officer. His wife, Rakeyia Scott, captured video on her cell phone as she tells police, “He has no weapon, don’t shoot him.” She also says he’s no danger to them and that he’d just taken his medicine. She continues to yell, “Don’t shoot him!”
In the middle of the video, an officer can be overheard saying, “Drop the gun.” His wife shouts, “Keith, Keith, Keith — don’t you do it!” The footage does not show the moments when shots were fired, but the sound is unmistakable, and Scott’s wife rushes towards where officers are gathered. All the while, Rakeyia screams, “Did you shoot him? Did you shoot him? He better not be f*cking dead, he better not be f*cking dead. He better live, he better live!” She approaches to find her husband lying face down on the ground with officers flanking his body.
Scott’s death hasn’t yet resulted in an arrest as with the recent Tulsa police shooting of Terrence Crutcher, where public pressure that resulted from released helicopter and dashcam footage may have urged swift action. The absence of such footage won’t quell the outrage surrounding the many facts of the Scott case that are still in dispute. It’s been established that police were searching for another man on an outstanding warrant when they encountered Scott, who — depending the version of the story — was either exiting his car while holding a gun or sitting in his car reading a book. Charlotte police have maintained that Scott posed “an imminent and deadly threat.”
(Via NBC News)