Wife of Keith Lamont Scott releases cell phone footage of Charlotte police shooting: "He better live”

Rakeyia Scott recorded the moments leading up to her husband's death at the hands of a Charlotte police officer

By Sophia Tesfaye

Senior Politics Editor

Published September 23, 2016 9:26PM (EDT)

"Don't shoot him. Don't shoot him," a woman identified as Rakeyia Scott, wife of Keith Lamont Scott, can be heard screaming to Charlotte police officers in a newly released video of her husband's shooting death.

Cellphone footage released by Scott on Friday is the first video made public of the fatal police shooting of the 43-year-old father of seven. The killing of Scott, an African-American man, sparked three nights of fiery protests and violent clashes between protesters and law enforcement in Charlotte, North Carolina, this week.

While the newly released video of the incident does not show the moment Scott was shot, it does show the moments leading up to the shooting and the moments immediately after Scott is fatally wounded.

"He has no weapon. He has no weapon," Scott's wife can be heard yelling to police in the video. Police have contended that Scott was armed and pointing a gun at police who were in the Charlotte apartment complex looking to execute an arrest warrant on another man. Police, however, have refused to release any corroborating evidence thus far.

One officer can be heard saying in the two-minute, 12-second footage, "Let me get a f---ing baton over here."

"Keith! Keith!" his wife can be heard screaming from a distance, before adding, "Don't you do it!" Scott can also be heard informing police that her husband suffers from a traumatic brain injury.

After hearing multiple police yell "drop the gun," four shots are fired. The shooting is not caught on camera.

“He better not be f---ing dead. He better not be f---ing dead,” Scott then yells at police. “He better live. I swear, he better live.”

"Did you all call an ambulance?" Scott's wife asks, before the video cuts out.


By Sophia Tesfaye

Sophia Tesfaye is Salon's senior editor for news and politics, and resides in Washington, D.C. You can find her on Twitter at @SophiaTesfaye.

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Keith Lamont Scott Police Brutality Police Shooting Rakeyia Scott Video