Video of African-American man's fatal shooting released

Authorities have released footage of a fatal shooting of an African-American man in the US city of Charlotte.

Portions of bodycam and dashcam footage released late Saturday showed Keith Lamont Scott on September 20 come out of a white SUV while police stand behind another vehicle with their weapons raised and command him to drop the gun, NBC News reported.

Scott eventually emerges from the SUV slowly and backs away.

As he was backing up, four shots can be heard, and Scott can be seen falling to the ground.

The footage along with the photos of a pistol and ankle holster recovered at the scene was released by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police.

Authorities have said an African-American officer shot Scott, who was black, when he made a threatening move with a gun. But the family said that he was reading a book and did not carry a gun.

However, none of the footage shows Scott pointing a gun at police officers. At one point in the body-camera video, there is a view of Scott from his right side and he has his arm by his body, but it is unclear if there is a gun, according to attorney Justin Bamberg, who represents the Scott's family.

"You can't clearly identify what, if anything, is in his hand," Bamberg said.

The release comes one day after a video recorded by Scott's widow was released publicly. Her video shows the moments leading up to the killing of her husband.

In the video, she tells the police that her husband has a traumatic brain injury as they scream for him to put down a gun, CNN reported.

Scott's shooting has resulted in violent protests in Charlotte. Demonstrators on Saturday gathered for a fifth day in the city's centre. A crowd of 200 to 300 people participated in a rally.

--IANS

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