Charlotte police refuse to release video of fatal shooting, as curfew is imposed on tense city

Charlotte police refused under mounting pressure to release video that could resolve wildly different accounts of the shooting of a black man, as the National Guard arrived to try to head off a third night of violence in this city on edge, where the mayor ordered a midnight curfew.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Kerr Putney said Thursday that releasing police dashcam and body camera footage of the police killing of 43-year Keith Lamont Scott could undermine the investigation. He told reporters the video will be made public when he believes there is a “compelling reason” to do so.

“You shouldn’t expect it to be released,” Putney said. “I’m not going to jeopardise the investigation.”

Mayor Jennifer Roberts signed an order imposing a curfew from midnight to 6 am as protesters marched through the streets, their numbers smaller than on previous nights. Some carried signs; others had bandannas to cover their faces. They chanted, “No justice! No peace.”

A crowd of protesters left a Charlotte park on Thursday evening and wound through the city’s streets as officers with bikes looked on.

“Release the tape!” they chanted. “Release the tape!”