Charlotte’s top cop claims he can’t show you videos that prove Keith Scott’s killing was justified [View all]
Charlotte’s top cop claims he can’t show you videos that prove Keith Scott’s killing was justified
But the law he’s invoking isn’t in effect yet.
Alan Pyke
Moments after Mayor Jennifer Roberts pledged transparency in the police killing of Keith Scott that sparked violent overnight protests, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Kerr Putney said his department will not release body camera footage from the incident.
Putney claimed he is unable to release the footage because state law requires a court order to publish such videos. “The law is pretty specific, especially around criminal evidence for an investigation,” he said. “I cannot release that.”
But that’s not true, the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina told ThinkProgress. The controversial law prohibiting police officials from releasing such videos to the public is not yet in effect.
“Of course he doesn’t need {a court order} now. It’s entirely in the department’s discretion,” ACLU NC communications director Mike Meno said. “We’re urging Chief Putney and CMPD to release this footage in the interest of transparency.”
The new state law stripping local officials’ decisionmaking authority over police camera footage kicks in on October 1. After the end of next week, citizens and officials alike will need a court order to get videos like these released in the public interest.
But until then, Meno said, Putney has all the authority he needs. “Where you have a situation like this where there are conflicting accounts from police and community members, it’s in the public interest to release footage that can shine a light on what happened,” he said. “Not only can this hold officers accountable if they’ve abused their power, but if the officer’s being accused of something they haven’t done it can show that as well.”
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https://thinkprogress.org/charlotte-police-video-881c8a875898#.mvuk9tyc6
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