Prosecutor clears Charlotte police officer who shot black man dead
A prosecutor on Wednesday cleared a Charlotte police officer in the killing of a black man whose death touched off civil unrest, and he presented detailed evidence to rebut assertions that the slain man was unarmed.
All of the credible, available and believable evidence supports the conclusion that Scott was armed with a gun
Officer Brentley Vinson was justified in opening fire on Keith Scott and won’t face charges, Charlotte-Mecklenburg District Attorney Andrew Murray said.
In a 40-minute news presentation to news reporters, Murray produced evidence that Keith Scott was armed with a handgun and the officer who killed him feared Scott would shoot.
The announcement “profoundly disappointed” Scott’s family, but they haven’t decided whether to file a lawsuit, their lawyer said. Scott, 43, was killed September 20 in the parking lot of an apartment complex. Much of Murray’s presentation centred on the gun and debunking witnesses who said Scott wasn’t armed.
Murray displayed a store’s surveillance video taken shortly before the incident, showing the outline of what appeared to be a holstered gun on Scott’s ankle. He said Scott’s DNA was found on a Colt .380-calibre semi-automatic handgun recovered at the scene. He shared a Facebook conversation from the man who said he sold the stolen gun to Scott and recognised him from television coverage after the shooting, and police radio traffic where officers talked about the gun before confronting Scott.
