CMPD Office Vinson will not be charged in the Keith Scott Case (attorney, live)

[Riley09swb]

Originally Posted by zitsky

Did the police know who he was when they shot him, or just after?

No, the DA addressed this in the press conference that Officer Vinson was unaware of Keith Scott's criminal record at the time of the incident.

How would you have liked them to handle it?

Scott got out of the car facing the officer's. He was high on marijuana and he was also on meds for his TBI. He had a loaded gun with the safety off and it was cocked that was also unknown to Officer Vinson at the time (he knew he had a gun but didn't know anything else beyond that).

This is taken straight from the DA's report of the investigation http://ftpcontent4.worldnow.com/wbtv...ott-report.pdf

"Officer Miranda told investigators that Scott “looks over at me and then just pulls
it out and just kinda stares at me, so I start yelling, ‘Drop the gun, drop the gun,
drop the gun!’ probably six times.”Officer Hostutler ran to the SUV and attempted to break the passenger sidewindow with a baton. Officer Hostutler saw Scott seated in the SUV holding a
firearm in his right hand.At some point, Scott’s wife, Rakeyia Scott, arrived and recorded part of the
encounter on her cellphone.From the dash camera video of a marked patrol unit and the video taken by
Rakeyia Scott, officers can be heard at least 10 different times telling Scott to
drop the gun. After Officer Hostutler was able to break the window, Officer Miranda saw Scott
take a deep breath and exit the SUV."

When Scott exited the SUV, Officers Vinson12, Hostutler13, Wiggins14 and Sgt.
Pendergraph all saw the gun in Scott’s hand. When Scott exits the SUV, the right pant leg is seen pulled up above the ankle.The store surveillance video from minutes before the shooting shows Scott’s right
pant leg down with a noticeable bulge near his ankle. None of the video recordings (dash camera, body-worn camera or cellphone)clearly captured Scott’s hands.
Officers continued to issue commands for Scott to “drop the gun.” Scott
continued to not comply with those commands.

Officers described Scott, who was out of the vehicle and holding a firearm, as
having a “blank stare”, being “in a trance like state”, and looking “like he just
wasn’t there.”While unknown to the officers at the time they provided these
descriptions, this behavior is consistent with the known effects of the drugs
prescribed to Scott, which also may include aggression and behavior
abnormalities.Officer Vinson, believing Scott to pose an imminent threat, fired his weapon four
times, fatally wounding Scott.Vinson stated in his video recorded interview: “I felt like if I didn’t do anything right then at that point it’s like he…he was gonna shoot me or he’s gonna shoot one a my buddies, um, and it was gonna happen right now.”

The gun was a Colt .380 semi-automatic. It had one round in the chamber, ready
to fire. The safety was off. The gun was cocked. There was no magazine
inserted into the gun, nor was one located anywhere on the scene or in Scott’s
vehicle.

Another thing the officer's didn't know that day was that Scott had an outstanding warrant for his arrest in Gaston County. If he had been arrested for the gun (as a felon and the gun was stolen at that ) he would have likely gone back to prison.

So, put yourself in Officer Vinson's shoes and tell me what you would have done. Stand there and let him shoot you? Shoot another officer before you and after you? Shoot him in the arm and hope it takes him down and that you are quick enough to get to him before he gets another round off (he didn't have another round but nobody knew that).

[AndrewCarnegie]

Originally Posted by chb119

I will call you naive, "but he didn't shoot anyone," and "shoot to kill?" From these two phrases I can tell you have never been in a shoot/no shoot situation, or even fired a handgun.

and FYI bullets fired in high stress situations tend to miss there intended target, that is why they aim for the biggest target and to stop the threat quickest. If death is a byproduct well that is what happens, when you commit a crime while armed, and fail to obey lawful orders.

That shoot them in the leg crap is for movies, in real life it would lead to officers being killed.

Yes, this. If your aim is off by 100th of an inch at the front of a gun barrel it can amount to 3 feet off at 50 feet so the degree of precision required to shoot accurately is not understood by people whose only experience with a gun is watching TV. And, many police departments require pistols with stiff trigger springs so oftentimes policemen are handicapped by these harder-to-shoot weapons.

[zitsky]

I would say police were justified. But that's not true all the time. That's why we have BLM out there.

[Charlotteborn]

Originally Posted by zitsky

I would say police were justified. But that's not true all the time. That's why we have BLM out there.

It is terribly sad that anyone dies by getting shot. In this case the officer was justified.

Mr. Scotts wife, daughter and other 'witnesses' (that have now recanted) lied about what happened and should be prosecuted.

BLM and similar groups exacerbate problems by jumping on the bandwagon before the facts are out.
I was all for peaceful protests however, after the riots and looting I think these organizations should be held accountable for encouraging the protests.

[Riley09swb]

Originally Posted by zitsky

I would say police were justified. But that's not true all the time. That's why we have BLM out there.

You're correct that isn't true all the time but all color of people are shot by all color of policemen and protesting and rioting only happen when it's a black males shot. Why is that?

In this case it was a black officer and a black victim. Though multiple "witnesses" reported that it was a white officer that did the shooting. Video and physical evidence disputes that plus the fact that most of the witnesses have since recanted. One said he got his accounts from social media and videos he saw online.

I think that Mrs.Scott and Keith Scott's daughter should be charged for lying and inciting riots. His wife knew he had a gun and had to have known it was on him. Instead she told the police it wasn't a gun but a book. Good thing they didn't take her word. His daughter wasn't even there though she said she was and she said a white officer did it and posted it live to social media.

[Lee100]

The officer was justified in the shooting, this right here is just another example that not all cops are out to get minorities as irrational people will have you believe.

[tripleh]

did they find the "book"?

[tripleh]

Originally Posted by zitsky

I would say police were justified. But that's not true all the time. That's why we have BLM out there.

BLM only exists to stir up trouble.

[Semperparatus!]

Originally Posted by tripleh

did they find the "book"?

Must still be looking.... The one thing they did find was a stolen gun. The man who stole the gun and sold it to Scott confessed to authorities.

[goolsbyjazz]

This is tough in that I believe Mr. Scott should still be alive to answer for his offense. Having said that, he had a few things working against him and may still be around had he complied with the officer's order to put the gun down which could be heard clearly on the video. He also was not supposed to have a gun and was spotted with marijuana. To top it off he apparently was on meds to deal with traumatic brain injuries he apparently suffered from. This may explain his confusing response to the officers but we will never know because his voice has been silenced forever.