N.C. officer who shot, killed Keith Scott won’t face charges.
The North Carolina police officer who shot and killed Keith Lamont Scott earlier this year will not face charges in connection with Scott’s death, local authorities announced Wednesday. The Charlotte Observerwith the details:
[District Attorney Andrew] said that evidence in the case shows that Scott stepped out of his SUV with a gun in his hand and ignored at least 10 commands from the five officers on the scene to drop it.
Murray said that Scott obtained the gun – which had been stolen in Gaston County – 18 days before the confrontation. One bullet was found in the chamber of the gun, the safety was off and Murray said Scott’s DNA was found on the grip and ammunition slide.Advertisement
Scott (who was black) was shot and killed by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police officer Brentley Vinson (who is also black) in September, an event that sparked several days of protests in the city, some of which turned violent. The unrest was fueled in large part by an assertion from Scott’s wife that he was unarmed at the time of the shooting, a claim that was initially backed up by several since-retracted reports from people on social media claiming to have witnessed the shooting firsthand. The police’s curious decision not to immediately release video of the deadly incident added to the confusion and anger. (The bodycam and dashcam footage ultimately did not clearly show whether Scott was armed.)
On Wednesday, Murray suggested the decision not to charge Vinson turned out to be a relatively easy one. He said he showed the case to more than a dozen veteran prosecutors, and not one believed there was enough evidence to move forward. According to police, Vinson and his fellow officers were staked out in the parking lot of Scott’s apartment complex looking for a suspect in an unrelated case. The officers then claim to have seen Scott rolling a joint in his car, something they were ready to ignore until they spotted him holding a semi-automatic pistol. It was only then, authorities say, that the officers decided to confront Scott. Vinson ended up firing four shots, three of which hit Scott.
AdvertisementIt was never likely that Vinson would face charges. Our laws, maddening as they can be, give officers broad leeway to use lethal force, either when they fear their lives are in danger or when they are making an arrest. The Supreme Court cemented the scope of that authority in 1989’s Graham v. Connor, a case involving police officers that apparently mistook a diabetic who was behaving erratically due to his low blood sugar for a belligerent drunk. In short, according to the U.S. criminal justice system, it’s not whether the officer is objectively correct when he uses force; it’s whether he subjectively believed that he was right in the moment he did.
Nonetheless, an attorney for the Scott family said Wednesday’s announcement is not the end as far as they are concerned. “We still have concerns,” Charles Monnett said after the press conference, according to CNN. “We still have real questions about what decisions were made that day.”
Tweet Share Share Comment-
Michael Cohen fights Donald Trump at the Supreme Court.S. Korea says it is monitoring fullBolt sees only tough times in Tokyo for Jamaica's menXbox Series X is $50 off at Best Buy in early Prime Day dealBernie Sanders’ DNC speech sounded like everyone else’s. That’s astonishing.The best Apple deals for August 2024: Save on AirPods Max and MacBook AirAssembly passes bill requiring day care CCTV installationIn desperation, N. Korea, Russia turn to one another for mutual assistance rivaling US[From the Scene] How ‘world’s first oil town’ is wrestling to become ‘green'Abe missed his chance on history: Park
- ·The Analog Embrace: How Some Experiences Are Surviving the Digital Age
- ·Best Bose deals: Save big on Bose headphones with the biggest deals this week
- ·Best tablet deals: Save on Samsung, Amazon Fire, and Apple
- ·农村电商物流业务量保持高速增长!4月份中国电商物流指数发布
- ·50 Years Later: The Revolutionary 8008 Microprocessor
- ·Resourceful beauty blogger employs fluffy cat for staging assistance
- ·NK preparing ICBM launch for trilateral summit: spy agency
- ·Sex ed in France just got more inclusive, thanks to this 3D
- ·Who is the Dark Wizard in 'The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power' Season 2?
- ·Apple Watch Ultra 3 rumors: Everything we know so far
- ·Islam Makhachev submits Thiago Moises in Round 4 at UFC
- ·The royal family just released three photographs from Princess Diana's personal album
- ·The local version of Project 2025 is already causing devastation.
- ·An artist is turning stretch marks into powerful works of art
- ·Russia unlikely to provide high
- ·LG to buy 500 billion won worth of shares in 2 affiliates
- ·Discover Secret Swimming Holes and Hidden History in Crystal River, Florida
- ·Russia and China primed to end Japan's reign
- ·Formula One boss hails 'sensational' sprint debut
- ·Biden condemns N. Korea's defiance of UNSC resolutions, remains committed to diplomacy
- ·[Herald Review] Tori Kelly thrills fans, hints her love for Korean artists
- ·North Korea slams South Korea
- ·11 Unfinished Places That Are Frozen in Time
- ·North Korea scrambled jets after US spy aircraft approached: KCNA
- ·Naver, Kakao strive to combat deepfake porn spreading online
- ·Student detained in N. Korea is S. Korean: official
- ·US to oppose North Korean worker dispatch to occupied Ukrainian territory: State Dept.
- ·N. Korea threatens to attack S. Korean ships in Yellow Sea
- ·Russia unlikely to provide high
- ·Chinese delegation to visit Pyongyang for celebrations of N. Korea's founding anniversary
- ·Apple iPod: The First 10 Years of the Ubiquitous Media Player
- ·Park expected to return to work this week
- ·BMW previews James Bond
- ·11 Unfinished Places That Are Frozen in Time
- ·How to watch 'Kinds of Kindness': When is it streaming?
- ·Russia and China primed to end Japan's reign