CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) – A review board Tuesday found “substantial evidence of error” in a North Carolina police department’s decision that the fatal shooting of a black man by an officer last year was justified and scheduled another hearing on the matter in August.
Julian Wright, an attorney representing the Citizens Review Board for the city of Charlotte, announced that the panel voted 8-2 to take another look at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s conclusion in the shooting death of Keith Lamont Scott.
Wright said the board will gather more information at the evidentiary hearing scheduled for Aug. 8, including testimony from officers and other witnesses. Should the board conclude that there was an error, Wright said, the panel would write a recommendation to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Kerr Putney saying “we believe that your determination that the shooting was justified is not correct and we recommend that you change it.”
Wright said the board could also determine that the shooting was justified. He didn’t elaborate on what details led the board to its vote.
The decision came after presentations from the police department and attorneys for the Scott family at a hearing that lasted nearly five hours.