Scott had gun, not book, chief says
Scott, a father of seven, was killed by police in an apartment complex parking lot as officers looked for another man named in a warrant they were trying to serve.
His family said Scott, an African-American, was unarmed and sitting in his car reading a book, waiting for his son to come home from school.
But Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Kerr Putney said Scott exited his car with a gun, not a book. He said officers couldn’t find a book at the scene.
“It’s time for the voiceless majority to stand up and be heard,” the police chief, who is also black, said Wednesday.
“It’s time to change the narrative because I can tell you from the facts that the story’s a little bit different as to how it’s been portrayed so far, especially through social media.”
Putney said both evidence and witnesses support the officers’ claim that Scott was armed.
Officers repeatedly told Scott to drop his gun, Putney said, but he didn’t. Officer Brentley Vinson, who is also black, then shot him.
The chief said he was not certain whether Scott pointed his gun at officers; Vinson was not wearing a body camera at the time.
But a person doesn’t have to point a weapon directly at police to spur deadly force, CNN law enforcement analyst Art Roderick said.
“You don’t have to actually wait until a handgun is pointed at you because you’re talking milliseconds of a decision as to whether you’re going to pull your trigger, or that individual is going to pull their trigger,” Roderick said.