No charges in Charlotte shooting

Murray said he discussed revealed his decision to Scott’s family before announcing it. Recorded on a dashcam, you can see Scott leave his auto and walks backward toward officers., but a visual of a gun within Scott’s possession was not evident. Murray said the gun was cocked, its safety was off and it had a round in its chamber.

Scott spent almost a decade in prison in Texas on an assault with a deadly weapon charge and had warrants out for his arrest from neighboring Gaston County the day he died, Murray said.

Murray said his team of homicide prosecutors reviewed the evidence, along with other lawyers.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Kerr Putney eventually chose to release bodycam and dashcam videos, but neither clearly showed whether Scott had a firearm in his hand. Later, North Carolina reluctantly released police dash cam footage of the event after initially refusing.

Police said they were looking for someone with an outstanding warrant when Scott, 43, exited a vehicle with a gun. Later, Murray said officers were working undercover at The Village at College Downs, when one officer said he witnessed Scott sitting in his cars with drugs and a gun. Police videos didn’t definitively establish whether Scott was armed, according to the New York Times.

In a statement released Wednesday, Scott’s family said they were “profoundly disappointed” in Murray’s decision not to charge Vinson. “He was aware that, when he pinned the vehicle, that Mr. Scott chose to draw that weapon and have it in his hand”.

But at a news conference following the ruling on Wednesday, prosecutors showed surveillance footage from a nearby shop of Mr Scott showing the apparent outline of holstered gun on his leg – evidence he was armed.

That’s how Vinson described, when he told investigators Scott wouldn’t drop the gun. He has no weapon.

The local district attorney determined Charlotte-Mecklenburg officer Brentley Vinson acted lawfully when he shot Scott.

Murray then showed a still image taken after Scott had parked his SUV in the apartment complex lot where he was shot. “Every officer’s gun was seized, and an ammunition count was conducted by investigators”. If they were going to prosecute he would have given some sort of a tell early on. Scott’s family has said he was not armed.

“The video does not give me absolute, definitive visual evidence that would confirm that a person was pointing a gun”, Putney said on September 22.

The killing sparked widespread protests in Charlotte as Scott’s family pleaded for justice.

“We still have concerns”, Monnett said.

Police have maintained that Scott was holding a handgun.

Media outlets reported that the protesters gathered Wednesday evening outside Charlotte police headquarters.

According to NBC News, Murray has since entreated the Charlotte community at large to be understanding of his office’s decision and not to file charges against his office. Some protests were peaceful, others turned violent.

Tensions flared outside the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department where officers tried to keep crowds under control. “My thoughts and prayers are with the family of Keith Lamont Scott, and I pray we give them the time and privacy to process today’s decision”. “We’re committed to continuing to build trust with community”. He has been on administrative leave which is standard in police shootings. A police spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding his status after Murray’s announcement.

The police said Scott, a black man, got out with a gun, then got back in. While Scott, a convicted felon, was not legally allowed to own a gun, officers did not know that at the time, and North Carolina is an open-carry state.