Conflict in Charlotte: Discrediting a Few Fishy “Eyewitness” Claims

By Aaron Grubbs on September 27, 2016

Every week on Facebook I find myself feeling the responsibility to set “fact” based memes straight. Some of them just give enough information to be misleading like the Tanya McDowell case meme claiming she was sentenced to 5 years jail time for fraudulently sending her son to a better school in the wrong district. The reality is that she did in fact get 5 years jail time plus 5 years probation afterwards but that charge was because of the pot, crack cocaine and prostitutes she attempted to sell to undercover cops on five separate occasions. The only school involved was the one she was standing outside of with high amounts of pot and crack when she was finally picked up by police. Others, though satisfying, are just downright false such as the story by a “news” source called The Dishh (which primarily reports on food and entertainment) claiming a 17-year-old rape victim castrated her attacker and forced him to eat his severed member. As I said, revenge porn can be super satisfying if only it were true but when a food blog starts writing articles about “real news” you have to take it with a grain of salt (completely intended pun).

Sadly far too many facebookers take these scrolling political memes as gospel. Which is once again what I think has, at least in part, caused reactions to the charlotte shooting to get so out of control, in addition to its close chronological proximity to the Tulsa shooting (which is a totally different case and should be treated as so yet many have slung them together anyway). Several videos have come out from family members and witnesses that have gained huge visibility in the public view. What’s crazy is that not only do many of the statements made by these various people have big discrepancies both from one another (as well as logic) but for many it’s not even clear that they were actual witnesses to the shooting.

I’d like to set some of these discrepancies straight or at least shed enough light on them that you can have a more peaceful educated response to the events that have transpired in the past week and maybe don’t go burning down any towns in the name of social revolution.

This past Tuesday, September 20th, Keith Lamont Scott was fatally shot in the parking lot outside an apartment complex in Charlotte, North Carolina. Much speculation has surfaced on the internet coming from family members of Mr. Scott as well as supposed witnesses. Though some of what has been aired over social media and what has been claimed in news reports and by the family’s attorney, Justin Bamberg, is at odds both with the police report as well as what can be seen in videos and photos taken at the scene of the shooting.

washingtonpost.com

The first and possibly the most glaring bit of misinformation comes from a supposed “witness,” Taheshia Williams who gave her version of events to reporters in the hours following the shooting. She says she believes the whole thing is a cover up. She claims to have seen a bald white police officer, not the black officer, Brentley Vinson, shoot Scott and that the black officer didn’t even arrive on the scene for another 10-15 minutes. Additionally, she reenacts the way Scott finally exits his car saying “[with hands in the air] What is the problem? What did I do? What’s wrong?” She stated also that she could see clearly a black book in his hand which he dropped out of his lap when he exited the vehicle and proceeded to step over it as he walked towards the police.

Firstly, Bamberg, the family’s attorney, stated after seeing the police body cam videos that “When he was shot and killed, Mr. Scott’s hand’s were by his side” and Police Chief Kerry Putney also confirmed that in the videos he has viewed he did not see Scott raise his hands to point a gun. So misinformation number 1: Scott did not come out of the car with his hands up like Williams claimed.

Secondly, in a video recorded on the phone of Scott’s wife, which was recording before, during, and after the shooting, the black officer that has been reported as the shooter can be plainly seen. Misinformation number 2: The black officer, Brentley Vinson, was indeed at the scene the entire time, not 10-15 minutes later as Williams claims.

Officer Vinson is here seen clearly standing over Scott's body

Officer Vinson here is the middle of the three officers nearest Scott’s body. The handgun lay on the ground next to Vinson’s left foot.
NBC.com

Thirdly, Williams claims she saw the book in Scott’s hand, saw him drop it and step over it. If he was inside the car and also never raised his hands up how could she possibly have seen down into his car to see the book she claims he had? Additionally, if it was just a book that police were misperceiving as a gun then why would they still be yelling for him to drop it after he stepped away from his car if it had already fallen to the ground when he exited the vehicle? With that question aside, Scott’s wife’s video, as well as a still photo taken by another witness present at the time, clearly shows a handgun lying on the ground next to Scott’s body. Chief Putney also reports that no book was found at the scene but that the handgun was. Misinformation number 3: The book Williams claims to have seen does not seem to exist.

Here again is a still photo captured of Scott’s handgun.
CNN.com

In a video immediately after the shooting, Scott’s sister says the police simply pulled up, jumped out of their cruisers and started yelling at Scott before firing four fatal shots at him. Her response to reporters, “Hands up! He got a gun! He got a gun! Pow Pow Pow Pow. That’s it! He ain’t had no gun!” She also says he only had a book but never confirms that she actually saw said book.

It’s not clear though whether Scott’s sister was actually even a witness to the shooting or not.

Scott’s wife, Rakeyia Scott’s video records a completely different series of events where police yell for him to “drop the gun” at least 14 times before opening fire after he started walking towards them with his hands still down by his side concealing what he may have had, if anything, in his hands.

Be it a gun, be it a book, be it nothing at all, Scott did not follow the commands of the officers. Justin Bamberg comments (in my opinion, as if to adjust the narrative into one of Scott being shot in the back) that Scott was walking backwards. This is true but from the video shared by Scott’s wife it is only clear that he had his back to one officer and was still facing at least one other white officer in a red vest and the accused shooting officer, Brentley Vinson.

If he did have a book in his hands then why not just throw the book on the ground and prove to everyone watching that he was harmless? Or if he wasn’t holding anything at all then why didn’t he just get out of the car the first time he was asked and then put his hands in the air? If he was really so innocent why then did he do everything wrong in this situation? All the wrongs, I might add, lead to the appearance that he was trying to conceal something from officers. Perhaps that handgun that lay next to his body after being shot?

Since the shooting of Keith Scott, events in Charlotte have only gotten worse. Beginning on Tuesday night, the day Scott was killed, violent protesting has raged each night since. Police in riot gear attempted to control the situation as protesters blocked the roadway of I-85 and stole boxes and goods from 18-wheeler tractor trailers to set on fire before finally being forced off the roadway by police using tear-gas.

CNN.com

CNN.com

CNN.com

Protestors are also reported to have destroyed multiple marked police cars, smashed business windows, looted a Wal-Mart and even assaulted two Hyatt hotel employees that were punched in the face, as well as countless other reporters.

Another narrative popping up is the one of the man who was reported dead at the scene. A protestor, 26 year old Justin Carr, was shot in the head during Wednesday night’s protest. Many are already pointing the finger at the police who, of course, deny any involvement in the shooting. James Tyson, 31 and a certified Wilderness First Responder, saw Carr get shot and was first to rush to his aid. He said Carr was bleeding from his temple. Tyson says, “I heard no gunshot and I did not see any protesters with guns. I’m almost positive it was a rubber bullet.” Several clergy members that were in the crowd at the time also say the shot came from police. However, Tyson also reported that it took 10 minutes for medics clad in riot gear to make it through the crowd to help him. That seems a little fishy to me. If it took them so long to push through the crowd then how could he have been close enough to police for them to have shot him “point blank” as was reported by protesters.

washingtonpost.com

CNN.com

Thursday, September 22nd, Justin Carr died in the hospital. The following morning, Police Chief Putney announced that, in using footage from cameras in the area, police were able to identify and establish probable cause to arrest Rayquan Borum for the murder of Carr. Police continue to interview Borum as the investigation persists.

There are cases where white cops have absolutely overstepped hugely a moral line and made judgment calls that cost black lives unjustifiably but the black lives movement has taken a turn from nearly the beginning that seems to want to pretend black people never commit crimes, never warrant police intervention, never try to kill cops, and therefore any cop who is put in the position to have to use deadly force against a black person is a murderer, no questions asked.

What’s worse is that the movement has strayed so far from reality in many cases that it’s not only a black vs. blue movement but a black vs. white movement. Cops are blamed first and then whites as a whole are blamed as well.

If you disagree with them you are a racist.

The Charlotte shooting was no exception. Even though it has been confirmed by a black chief of police that a black officer shot Keith Lamont Scott this is still being turned into an issue of racism to the point that there were even people convinced that whites were trying to cover their own ass by pinning it on the black officer. Why would a black chief of police stand for something like that? And why would Officer Vinson remain so quiet about everything if he in fact isn’t the shooter. But that absurd conspiracy is beside the point as the only woman to go on record claiming that was Taheshia Williams.

The point is that while videos of family members finding out what happened to their loved ones is heart wrenching we can’t look at this case or any other through a filtered one-sided emotional lens. What could possibly be the point of CNN, a supposedly credible news source, to broadcast the reaction video of Scott’s daughter? It was mostly angled down at the grass beneath her feet and the only sounds were her despondent, hopeless words and screams between sobs. It wasn’t news, it held no important evidence or facts to better solve the case, it served only to further emotionally charge the situation and further the narrative that brings in viewers. This is cannot be how we deal with a case as important as this and reporters that do should be ashamed but so as long as they do viewers have got to be more responsible in discerning the credibility of information presented to them.

 

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