Local

911 calls released from Keith Scott shooting, night of protests on I-85

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The 911 call and several dispatches from police radios were released in the investigation into the CMPD shooting of Keith Lamont Scott last week.

Minutes before shots were fired an unidentified officer says on his radio “there was a guy who was parked next to us that was rolling a joint and had a gun.”

The comment coincides with Chief Kerr Putney statement, which said officers were seeking to detain Scott because he had marijuana and a gun.

CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS ON THE FULL KEITH SCOTT CASE

The police dispatches and videos are part of an SBI report handled by Mecklenburg County’s District Attorney Andrew Murray. Murray will decide whether to charge Officer Vinson in the shooting.

North Carolina law prohibits excessive force but also allows officers to use deadly force if an officer feels he has to ‘defend himself from what he reasonably believes to be the use or, or imminent use of, deadly physical force.”

Many people disagree with what the videos show.

Some said Keith Scott is backing away from officers who have their guns trained on him. Others suggest Scott may have been positioning himself to have a clear line of fire at officers.

Legal expert James Wyatt said the defense attorney’s decision could boil down to a key question, “what the DA is going to focus on is ‘was the officer’s conduct consistent with police standards?  Was it consistent with how he was trained?’”

Rob Corbett, a local defense attorney, said the District Attorney will put together a group of high ranking staff members to collaborate on the decision.

“They want to make sure that they’re going to do the right thing in terms of making the right decision.  That means not only reviewing all the video but also witness statements from people who were actually there,” Corbett said.

After last week’s protests in the aftermath of the shooting of Keith Scott concern is building about how the community will respond when the DA makes a decision about charging police.

NC Sen. Joel Ford said he hopes the city will be proactive in helping the community learn more about how the decision will be made.

“I think as much education from a credible source, explaining what the rules of engagement are, what the threshold is, will help reasonable people better understand,” Ford said.

DA Andrews Murray told Eyewitness News he still has no timetable for receiving a report on the investigation from the SBI or how long it will take him to make a decision on possible charges against Officer Vinson.

Listen to 911 calls from protests below: