Yesterday (September 22), marked the third night of protests in Charlotte. Hundreds of citizens have taken to the streets of the North Carolina city to demand an end to state violence in the wake of Keith Lamont Scott’s, 43, shooting death at the hands of a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) officer identified as Brentley Vinson.
NPR reports that the protester who was on life support following Wednesday’s actions died yesterday. Justin Carr, 26, died at the Carolinas Medical Center after being shot. While the city tweeted that he was shot by a civilian, witnesses said that he was felled by an officer’s bullet. During a press conference today (September 23), Police Chief Kerr Putney announced that officers—using surveillance camera footage—identified and arrested Rayquan Borum as a suspect in the shooting earlier today.
#Charlotte #police chief says they’ve #apprehended suspect in #murder of #JustinCarr, who was shot during #protests. https://t.co/goTcGE6PiK
— Angela Green Party (@FruitEtrange) September 23, 2016
As promised at yesterday’s press conference, Scott’s family watched the police body camera video of his shooting. Per NPR:
“After watching the videos, the family again has more questions than answers,” one of the attorneys for Scott’s family said in a statement. “It is impossible to discern from the videos what, if anything, Mr. Scott is holding in his hands.”
The family says the footage showed Scott walking slowly backward with his hands by his sides when he was shot. They called for the police department to “immediately release” the footage they saw to the public.
Kerr said yesterday that he is not planning to release the footage. At the family’s request, the case is now being investigated by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation.
As a result of the state of emergency designation, CMPD officers were joined by the North Carolina National Guard and the State Highway Patrol for the first time last night. City officials report that the protests were peaceful and that there were no injuries. While the state of emergency also allows for a curfew—slated to run from midnight until 6 a.m.—it was reportedly not enforced at the protest site yesterday.
No reports of officer or civilian injuries during tonight’s demonstration. pic.twitter.com/Y9IOCJPAvK
— CMPD News (@CMPD) September 23, 2016