CHARLOTTE, N.C.: Authorities tried to quell public anger and correct what they characterized as false information Wednesday as Charlotte dealt with a second night of violent protests, adding itself to the list of U.S. cities that have erupted in violence over the death of a black man at the hands of police.
One man was shot as protesters gathered near police in riot gear at an upscale downtown Charlotte hotel Wednesday night. He initially was reported as dead but officers later said he was on life support. The man was not shot by a police officer, the city of Charlotte said on Twitter.
A short time later, police began firing flash grenades at protesters who were throwing fireworks at them. They then fired tear gas at the hundreds of protesters, dispersing most of the crowd.
With officials refusing to release any video of the Tuesday shooting of Keith Lamont Scott, 43, anger built as two starkly different versions emerged: Police say Scott disregarded repeated demands to drop his gun, while neighborhood residents say he was holding a book, not a weapon, as he waited for his son to get off the school bus.
Protests Tuesday continued into Wednesday night when a group of protesters split from a peaceful prayer vigil and marched through downtown Charlotte. Six officers suffered minor injuries, paramedics said.
Police in riot gear then began marching arm in arm through downtown Charlotte intersections, shooting tear gas at people who charged them. At least one protester knocked down a reporter on live television.
On Tuesday night, a protest near the apartment complex where the shooting took place turned violent. Dozens of demonstrators threw rocks at police and reporters, damaged squad cars, closed part of Interstate 85, and looted and set on fire a stopped truck. Authorities used tear gas to break up the protests. Sixteen officers suffered minor injuries.
On Wednesday, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Kerr Putney said: “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.”
The chief said officers were serving warrants on another person when they saw Scott get out of a vehicle with a handgun. A black plainclothes officer in a vest emblazoned “Police” shot Scott after the officer and other members of the force made demands that he drop the gun, the chief said.
Neighbors, though, said the officer who fired was white and that Scott had his hands in the air.