Charlotte Police insist there was a 'reason' for shooting Keith Scott four times - but video shows man backing up with arms by his side
POLICE have finally released unedited dashcam and bodycam footage showing the moment a black man was shot dead, triggering riots in the American city of Charlotte.
Cops earlier announced they would make "pertinent" parts of the footage public - but faced an angry backlash for not revealing the whole video.
Upsetting footage shows Keith Scott slowly walking backwards out of his car before being shot four times by police.
Neither the dashcam footage nor the earlier-released bodycam footage show Keith pointing a gun at police or raising a weapon - nor does he appear to make any sudden movements.
Keith gets out of his car after about 50 seconds of filming and slowly takes four steps backwards with his arms by his side.
Four shots are fired in quick succession and the dad-of-seven slumps to the ground.
In footage released by his wife officers are heard shouting "drop the gun", but no weapon can be seen in the newly released footage.
Despite this, police insist Keith "absolutely" had a gun and say there was a "reason" for shooting him.
They claim to have found a loaded handgun at the scene with Keith's DNA and fingerprints on it. They said Keith also had marijuana on him.
Residents have disputed these claims - with his own daughter claiming he was simply "reading a book".
A fifth day of protests against the shooting followed the video release - with police blocking off downtown streets late into the night.
The brief bodycam footage released yesterday also shows Keith walking backwards away from his car before he is shot.
Cars and officers get in the way of a clear line of sight to see what actually happens, but when the police pull his hands behind his back as he lies on the floor, blood is visible on his fingers.
Relatives said the partial release of footage did not answer any questions about their loved one's death.
Justin Bamberg, a lawyer for Keith's family, said: "There is no definitive evidence in this video as to whether or not there is an object in his hand, and if there is, what that object is.
A string of protests have been held across North Carolina after the shooting of the black man
"But what we do know is that the moment Mr. Scott is shot, it appears as though he's not aggressively moving toward law enforcement; he's actually doing the opposite. He's passively stepping back."
Ray Dotch, Keith's brother-in-law, said reporters had been looking into his background - but that this shouldn't matter under the circumstances.
He added: "What we know and what you should know about him is that he was an American citizen who deserved better."
The shooting of the dad-of-seven was the latest in a series of deaths at the hands of the police in recent years which has caused outrage.
43-year-old Keith Scott was said to have been reading a book when he was shot and his family continues to claim he was unarmed.
Police have said he was in possession of a gun which he refused to drop after commands, and he was wearing an ankle holster.
Images of the holster and gun have been released today.
His death came days after another black man, Terence Crutcher, an unarmed pastor, was shot in Tulsa as he stood by his stalled car by a white police officer who has since been charged with manslaughter.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Kerr Putney told a news conference that the evidence showed Keith was in possession of a handgun and marijuana.
But tweets from the police force which have now been deleted said there was no definitive visual evidence that he had a gun in his hand.
Chief Putney said: "They [officers] look in the car and they see the marijuana, they don't act. They see the gun and they think they need to."
A video taken by Scott's wife and released to the public on Friday did not provide an answer on whether Scott had a gun.
Chief Putney said: "Yes, based on the totality of what we see, he absolutely was in possession of a handgun.
"The footage itself will not create in anyone's mind absolute certainty as to what this case represents and what the outcome should be."
Earlier in the week, he had said that police were not ready to release the video because doing so could compromise the investigation into the shooting.
But on Saturday, he said that after speaking with state investigators the video could now be released without "adversely impacting" the investigation.
Protesters have called for officers involved in the shooting to face criminal charges, but Putney said: "Officers are absolutely not being charged by me at this point.
"But again, there's another investigation ongoing."
Keith, who was sitting in a parked car when confronted by police, was shot by Officer Brentley Vinson, who has been placed on paid administrative leave.
Demonstrators on Saturday mounted a fifth day of protests in Charlotte. They called for the end of emergency measures imposed on the city this week, the removal of National Guard troops and for officers involved in the incident to be prosecuted.
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