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Family attorney of Keith Lamont Scott discusses possible civil suit

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The criminal case in the shooting death of Keith Lamont Scott may be over before it started but that doesn’t mean the family of Scott is done fighting.

Family attorney Chuck Monnett said the case could still end up in a Mecklenburg County courtroom moments after learning criminal charges won’t be filed against Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department Officer Brentley Vinson in the shooting of Scott.

“Certainly, a civil action is still possible and if the facts warrant it we fully intend to pursue it,” Monnett said.

But legal expert James Wyatt said overcoming the seemingly comprehensive findings presented by District Attorney Andrew Murray this week will present challenges.

CLICK HERE to read the district attorney's full report on the Keith Scott shooting

“The fact that criminal charges haven’t been brought doesn’t mean you can’t win a civil case but it’s going to make it harder,” Wyatt said.

Attorneys for the Scott family have already indicated they plan to zero in on whether CMPD officers overreacted the day Scott was killed.

“That will be the focus of our investigation. Were those officers properly trained?

Were they following their own departmental policies?” Monnett said.

Monnett has had success suing the city of Charlotte before.

Last year, he won a $2.25 million settlement for the family of Jonathan Ferrell, an unarmed man shot and killed by police.

Wyatt believes evidence that Scott was armed with a gun will make a similar settlement harder to come by.

“In this case, there is settlement value but it may not be nearly on the scale of other cases,” he said.

Scott family attorneys said they’ll begin to pour over the evidence uncovered by police and the State Bureau of Investigation.

So far, no civil lawsuit has been filed.

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