CHARLOTTE — A community took to the streets to demand answers Saturday, nearly one month after an officer with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department shot and killed Curtis Massey.
Police say the officer shot Massey after he pulled out a gun and perceived him as an imminent threat.
Channel 9’s Glenn Counts spoke to community activists who want the police to be more transparent about the case.
[ PREVIOUS COVERAGE: CMPD seeks release of body camera footage from officer-involved shooting ]
Massey was killed at a gas station on Lasalle Street. On Saturday, his family and friends gathered to honor him.
“I am so happy for the people that came out to support my son because they know my son was a loving child,” said Phylis Massey, the mother of Curtis.
There was a march calling for transparency in the case, demanding the body camera footage be released immediately.
Protestors marched up Lasalle Street and down Beatties Ford Road to CMPD’s Metro Division office.
“The light is shinning right now on the CMPD because they found some text messages of all the racism they got going on,” one family member said.
[ READ MORE: 3 CMPD officers resign amid racist text message probe ]
Police say Curtis displayed a gun and that the officer felt a deadly threat and opened fire.
His family doesn’t think he was ever a threat.
“You all have lost our trust,” said Renée Steele, Curtis’ aunt. “Police, we don’t trust you all anymore.”
Many at the march believe that Curtis was shot in the back. Sources tell Channel 9 there were no injuries to his back.
A lot of people believe there is only one way to prove the truth.
“I understand what the police chief said when she came and made her statement. Now that your officers have been known to be racist, get back with the community, release the footage,” a community activist said.
CMPD has petitioned a judge to release the body camera footage. That is a step the department didn’t have to take.
There is no word on how long that process will last.