CHARLOTTE, N.C. _ The State Bureau of Investigation has begun investigating Tuesday's fatal police shooting of a black man that sparked two nights of violent protests in Charlotte, and will determine whether charges should be filed against the officer involved.
Mecklenburg County District Attorney Andrew Murray had asked the SBI to investigate at the request of the family of the man who was killed, Keith Lamont Scott. Under state law, he is required to ask the SBI to investigate if he gets a request from family of a person killed with a firearm by an on-duty officer.
By early Thursday afternoon, some 24 agents with the SBI were at the scene of the shooting, at The Village at College Downs complex in northeast Charlotte. The SBI will determine whether any charges are warranted against the officer, Brentley Vinson.
Murray's office also has been in contact with the FBI and U.S. Justice Department, and is providing them "information to assist with their review of the matter."
Meanwhile, Charlotte leaders said Thursday local police resources will be bolstered by several hundred people with the addition of the National Guard and State Highway Patrol following a second night of protests.
"We are not going to let a few hours give a negative impact on our great city," Gov. Pat McCrory said at a news conference Thursday afternoon. He praised the work of the local police and first responders. "We can't tolerate any type of violence."
McCrory said he'd discussed the situation earlier Thursday afternoon with President Barack Obama. Mayor Jennifer Roberts also spoke to the president.
At an earlier news conference Thursday, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Kerr Putney said he reviewed video of the shooting and it "does not give me absolute, definitive visual evidence that will confirm a person was pointing a gun. I did not see that in the video." But he said the "totality" of the evidence supports the police conclusion that officers confronting the man faced an imminent, deadly threat.
The streets of uptown Charlotte were calm Thursday after Wednesday's protests. Putney said there were 44 arrests, and five officers and nine civilians were injured.
He said the city has not yet decided it needs a curfew for Thursday night. Having the additional resources to protect property will allow CMPD to focus on going after criminal behavior.
Roberts repeated her pleas for peaceful protests, and defended the city's decision not to seek additional resources from the state until late Wednesday. "I rely on my experts to give me appropriate advice. We made the decision when the resources were needed at the appropriate time."
Scott, 43, was fatally shot by police Tuesday afternoon in the University area. The officer who shot him, Vinson, 26, is also black. Police said Scott held a handgun as he got out of a car in an apartment complex, but others claimed he was reading a book. Police said they found a gun but no book at the scene.
A small shrine to Scott was at the shooting site Thursday.
Putney said Scott's family will be shown the video, but gave no indication if or when it might be released to the public.
Late Wednesday, McCrory declared a state of emergency for Charlotte and deployed the National Guard and State Highway Patrol troopers to assist local police. The National Guard began arriving at their armory near the airport before 7 a.m., and Guard vehicles were seen rolling out about 8 a.m.
The shooting exploded on social media and drew national attention in the wake of other police shootings of black men that fueled protests around the country.
Meanwhile, U.S. Justice Department spokesman David Jacobs has confirmed to McClatchy that the department's Community Relations Service will be sending staffers to Charlotte. The service is a division within Justice that responds to communities in crisis.
At the news conference, Putney was asked why police allowed the situation to escalate out of control Wednesday. "We felt pretty comfortable that we could handle what we were going to encounter," he said, adding that when it exceeded their capacity they sought help.
"We had a lot of looting and our intention is to protect those assets so we don't have further damage," Putney said.
Roberts was asked why she didn't accept the state's offer of additional resources when they were offered at 7 a.m. Wednesday. The mayor said she didn't anticipate needing it.
"We were in conversations with the governor early in the morning," she said, adding that the city had indications that the protests would be peaceful. She was in constant contact with Putney.
Mecklenburg County Commissioner Bill James criticized the delay.
"She evidently had this Pollyanna view of the world where she thought it would be a kumbaya moment and they wouldn't riot," James said. "What I don't understand is why she thought so highly of this mob after what they did the first night."
McCrory refused to second-guess Charlotte's efforts, saying, "I'm never going to judge the people on the ground." He said he'd begun assembling National Guard troops early Wednesday in anticipation they would be needed.
He also said what happened in Charlotte could have happened anywhere.
At a separate news conference Thursday, state NAACP President William Barber said the overwhelming majority of protesters have been peaceful. He said the violence in the street must stop.
"As people of faith _ Jewish, Christian and Muslim _ there is a great tradition of supporting righteous, justice-seeking, nonviolent protest that is rooted in legitimate discontent," he said.
Barber said the media shouldn't focus on the "few provocateurs who have chosen to meet hate with hate."
Robin Tanner, lead minister of Piedmont Unitarian Universalist Church, accused police of marching toward protesters and that officers gave no command to move.
"They marched us into the Omni (Hotel,)" she said. "Last night did not have to end like it ended. It did not have to end like it ended. ... We have critical hours now as our city's being militarized."
By daybreak Thursday, uptown was mostly quiet, with no protesters visible.
Reporters, and state troopers in tactical gear, centered around the EpiCentre, the entertainment complex at College and Trade streets that faced looting and sustained significant damage. It was expected to be closed for the day. Businesses damaged there included Sundries EpiCentre, CVS, Enso and Fleming's Prime Steakhouse.
No damage estimates from the city were immediately available.
Workers from uptown buildings and disaster recovery outfits were out Thursday morning replacing windows and cleaning up damage from the protests.
Ryan McLeod, 32, was removing broken glass from the Charlotte Convention Center. "I don't agree with none of this. It's not making the situation any better," he said. "I understand the frustration, but rioting and damaging buildings doesn't fix the problem."
The NASCAR Hall of Fame was among the other sites hit by vandals. On Thursday morning, a street sign hung from the front window of the hall's news center, after vandals tried prying out the front window. Adjacent restaurants and hotels were also damaged, with doors and windows broken out.
An official with the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority said they were working to assess damage to the Hall of Fame building, and adjacent convention center.
Vandals also hit the headquarters of the region's United Way, across from the Hall of Fame. The United Way building had its lobby windows smashed out. It was unclear early Thursday if looters entered the building.
Michael Smith, the head of Charlotte Center City Partners, urged businesses to remain open Thursday, "standing together as one Charlotte in our central business district."
But given the "ongoing civil unrest," Bank of America told its employees not to report to their uptown offices on Thursday. Wells Fargo also told all non-essential employees to work from home.
A Duke Energy spokesman said all non-essential personnel who work in uptown should stay home for the day.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools was operating on a normal schedule Thursday, as is Mecklenburg County government. Also, CATS said it has restored services to all lines.
Carolina Panthers officials were to meet Thursday morning to discuss security measures for Sunday's game against Minnesota, a team spokesman said. An NFL spokesman said: "We are planning to play the game as scheduled on Sunday. We are monitoring events in Charlotte and have been in communication with local officials and authorities, and both the Carolina Panthers and the Minnesota Vikings."
One person was shot at the Wednesday night protest and was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, Medic said. The city initially reported that he died, but later retracted that, saying he was on life support.
His family identified the victim as Justin Carr, WCCB TV reported. On her Facebook page, Carr's mother posted, "my baby was shot in the head for no apparent reason!"
City leaders appealed for calm and promised a thorough investigation of the shooting that triggered hours of violent protest and shut down Interstate 85 on Tuesday.
But Wednesday night, police needed to use tear gas to disperse hundreds of protesters who blocked the intersection of Trade and Tryon streets in the heart of uptown, then occupied the EpiCentre.
The shooting was "civilian on civilian," the city tweeted. "@CMPD did not fire shot."
At the Thursday news conference, Putney said video of the shooting is being reviewed. There were allegations that an officer was involved, he said "and we are investigating that to seek the truth."
A Daily Beast story posted late Wednesday by writer Ryan James claimed that he witnessed the shooting at East Trade and South College streets and that the shooter was a protester, not a police officer, as some have claimed. James says the shooting happened for no apparent reason and that he himself was nearly hit.
"Standing about 10 yards away, I looked down the barrel of a pistol. Several people were screaming, saying someone was shot in the head and a crowd quickly formed around the victim, a black male. I thought to myself, 'Oh my God, why?' I could be the person on life support. The bullet had whizzed past me."
Meanwhile, the Charlotte Clergy Coalition for Justice disputed a report that it had questioned the city's account by saying several of its members were just 10 feet from the victim when he was shot. Thursday morning, the group said on Facebook it had not issued any such statement.
Moments earlier, police fired tear gas at protesters at the entrance to the Omni Hotel in uptown Charlotte. Loud booms sounded, and police said explosives had been used.
"Your life is in danger, you need to move!" police in riot gear yelled.
Four CMPD officers suffered non-life threatening injuries during Wednesday's protests, the department tweeted at 1:30 a.m. Thursday.
At 9:45 p.m., police fired rubber bullets at the crowd.
At the request of Putney, the State Highway Patrol is sending in troopers to assist CMPD, McCrory said late Wednesday.
"The state has many additional assets nearby to assist," McCrory said. "Any violence directed toward our citizens or police officers or destruction of property should not be tolerated."
Protests had remained peaceful in uptown on Wednesday, after the fatal police shooting of Scott. But the scene turned chaotic after 8:30 p.m., when protesters went from Marshall Park to the EpiCentre dining and entertainment complex and the Omni on Trade Street.
Many businesses in the EpiCentre closed hours earlier in anticipation of the protests. Police also blocked off streets as the situation deteriorated outside the Omni. The Charlotte Hornets NBA team store, a CVS and the EpiCentre Sundries were later looted.
Several hundred protesters had gathered at the Omni before tear gas began scattering the crowd. Protesters blocked Trade and Tryon streets at about 8 p.m. and then moved to the EpiCentre.
Hours earlier, a group of two dozen protesters stood silently in front of the Bank of America Tower at the same intersection. They held signs reading "Black Lives Matter" and "Stop Killing Us."
Protesters then gathered outside Charlotte-Mecklenburg police headquarters before gathering at Marshall Park for a 7 p.m. rally.
Scott's wife, meanwhile, issued a statement calling for protests to remain peaceful. Do not damage property, she urged.
The protest at Marshall Park was peaceful at 7:30 p.m. Speakers using a bullhorn questioned why police shot Scott. Protesters said that even if Scott had a gun, as Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said, North Carolina is an open-carry state where it is legal to have a firearm.
The protesters also criticized police for their response Tuesday night when officers used tear gas and batons to disperse crowds near where Scott was fatally shot.
"You were unprepared," one protester yelled, addressing police. "You escalated it. ... You came to us with billy clubs."
Master Allah of Charlotte said, "If you read (my sign), it says if we were really free, we wouldn't be dealing with this. What it means is, in the history of America, we have never been seen as free. We wasn't brought to this country to be equal, and now we're at a point to where we're being destroyed.
"I think with the power of media _ Facebook, Twitter, all the social media _ now it's something that's being seen on the daily. It can't be denied. We gotta talk about it because we've got a real problem."
After the violent protests at the EpiCentre, protesters made their way on to Interstate 277, where they temporarily blocked traffic.
At least four journalists were among those injured in the protests. WLTX in Columbia reported on Twitter that its chief photographer and a reporter were attacked. They were taken to Novant Health Presbyterian and are expected to be OK.
A photographer and reporter from WCNC also were tackled and taken to the hospital. WCCB reported that a protester tried to throw a still photographer into a fire in uptown.
Earlier Wednesday afternoon, pockets of the city were on edge, with some uptown businesses apparently sending workers home early over uncertainty about further protests. The Charlotte Chamber also urged businesses in uptown and University City to "remove or chain down all tables, chairs, signs or planters."
At the afternoon silent protest at the Bank of America Tower, Andrew Monroe said the gathering was organized informally by a group of black professionals. "What we want to do is show we're not dangerous," he said. "We want to show the world it's not thugs out here."
Monroe said black people deserve to be safe in the streets and don't feel the way in the spate of recent police shootings.
Across town at UNC Charlotte, students gathered at the Student Union and laid down in protest.
The scene turned chaotic after 8:30 p.m., when protesters moved to the EpiCentre dining and entertainment complex. Charlotte-Mecklenburg police attempted to control demonstrators with tear gas.
The events that led to the current turmoil began around 4 p.m. Tuesday. Police were conducting a search for someone who had an outstanding warrant at The Village at College Downs complex, Putney said.
Scott was not the person they were looking for, but police saw him in his car in the apartment complex.
They saw Scott get out of the car, then get back in, Putney said. They saw he had a handgun, approached the car and ordered him to drop the weapon.
Despite the commands, he got out of the car with the gun as officers continued to tell him to drop the weapon, Putney said. Within seconds Scott was shot. Authorities said Scott posed an imminent threat of danger.
Police do not yet know definitively if Scott had raised his weapon, Putney said. But he said that a person's gestures, aggressive behavior and other factors can also be interpreted as "imminent threats" under North Carolina law.
Police did not disclose how many times Scott was shot.
A woman who identified herself as Scott's daughter said on a live-streamed video that Scott was unarmed, reading a book in his car and waiting for the school bus to drop off his son. The video, viewed more than half a million times, elevated the incident to a national stage within hours.
Putney said no book was found at the scene. He said he did not know if the gun found near Scott was loaded.
Some civil rights activists and neighbors questioned the police account of the shooting Wednesday, saying Scott was disabled and was waiting for his son's school bus. Activists demanded answers from police and called on protesters to be peaceful.
The chief said he wanted to dispel false rumors.
Putney said officers began to encounter protesters at around 7 p.m. Tuesday. About one hour later, the crowd transformed into "more aggressive agitators who began breaking the law," Putney said.
Shortly before 11 p.m., police donned gas masks. Soon, clouds of tear gas bloomed in front of their lines. Protesters damaged at least two CMPD vehicles. Sixteen officers had minor injuries that night.
Vinson joined the department's police academy in July 2014 and was assigned to the Metro Division that December. He has faced no disciplinary actions, according to personnel records released by CMPD.
