Why did Keith Scotts family lie about the gun?

[Lee-Lee]

106. It was released fairly quick all things considered.

Investigation is the first priority, and you want to get good statements from every witness before they see tape that may influence their memories. You are not going to get instant gratification of your curiosity placed at a higher priority than doing the investigation.

Not sure why you are asking about NC's CCH law, as it doesn't have anything to do with this case. As a person convicted of multiple violent felonies he wasn't legally allowed to buy or own a gun, much less get a CCW.

The footage is all unclear as to if he started to point the gun or not. But that doesn't matter as a person with a gun refusing to follow commands to drop it is still a threat- studies have a shown a person holding a gun down can raise and fire it faster on average than a cop with the gun already aimed at him can see the action, judge to shoot and pull the trigger. So even not complying and not dropping the gun is a threat. There is only one reason you don't drop a gun when police have guns aimed at you ordering you to do so- because you plan to use it. At that point, given what we know about reaction times, even the slightest move up with the gun should be seen as a threat because the average time to go from down at the side to up and firing is under four tenths of a second.

Were there other ways to incapacitate him? Given how quick and fast it went down, not likely. He was moving, and effectively using a taser against a moving person is difficult and when that person can be shooting at you in under a second a failed taser deployment can make things worse. Pepper spray is a no-no against a person with a gun. A bean bag round may have worked, but they didn't have the time in this case to go get a less-lethal shotgun out of a trunk and hope it worked.