On Wednesday, November 30th, 2016, Officer Brentley Vinson of Charlotte Mecklenberg North Carolina Police Department, was cleared of all charges in the shooting of Keith Lamont Scott. This particular incident rose to prominence due to the fact that Scott is a black male who was initially thought to be innocent and unarmed, Vinson was initially thought to be white, and it was captured on shaky cell phone footage that quickly went viral on the internet. This caused a lot of attention to be brought to the situation. And of course, the usual ne’er do wells such as Black Lives Matter and other externally funded rabble rousing groups swooped in to wreak havoc and promote anarchy. The result was riots not only in Charlotte, but across the United States of America.
Unfortunately for the reactionary revolutionaries, none of the information that was assumed about the case was true, outside of the fact that Keith Lamont Scott was shot by police. The first incorrect piece of information was that Scott was innocent and unarmed. Scott first alerted the police by rolling up marijuana in a cigarillo directly in front of them as he sat in his vehicle. The police were not there for that, so they actually dismissed it to proceed with their other business at the apartment complex. But Scott then holds up a gun while sitting in his car. At that point, the police leave to get back up. They come back, Scott gets out of his car and not only is an ankle holster clearly visible, but so is a gun. They tell himt to drop the gun, he refuses, officer Vinson has no choice but to shoot. This is heard on the footage provided by Scott’s wife and is seen up close and personal on body camera footage provided by Brentley Vinson’s camera.
Speaking of Officer Vinson, the initial report about him was also incorrect. He is not white, he is in fact an unmistakably black male, and a former college football player with a clean record. During a press conference on Wednesday November 30, the officer presenting the facts of the case essentially said that Vinson did everything by the book and what was absolutely necessary given the particular set of unfortunate circumstances.
So all the rioting and protesting and accusations of racism and police corruption were all for naught. Or were they? Maybe the professional rabble rousers and merchandise boosters accomplished their goal. But the community at large most certainly did not accomplish anything worth writing home about.
Unfortunately for the reactionary revolutionaries, none of the information that was assumed about the case was true, outside of the fact that Keith Lamont Scott was shot by police. The first incorrect piece of information was that Scott was innocent and unarmed. Scott first alerted the police by rolling up marijuana in a cigarillo directly in front of them as he sat in his vehicle. The police were not there for that, so they actually dismissed it to proceed with their other business at the apartment complex. But Scott then holds up a gun while sitting in his car. At that point, the police leave to get back up. They come back, Scott gets out of his car and not only is an ankle holster clearly visible, but so is a gun. They tell himt to drop the gun, he refuses, officer Vinson has no choice but to shoot. This is heard on the footage provided by Scott’s wife and is seen up close and personal on body camera footage provided by Brentley Vinson’s camera.
Speaking of Officer Vinson, the initial report about him was also incorrect. He is not white, he is in fact an unmistakably black male, and a former college football player with a clean record. During a press conference on Wednesday November 30, the officer presenting the facts of the case essentially said that Vinson did everything by the book and what was absolutely necessary given the particular set of unfortunate circumstances.
So all the rioting and protesting and accusations of racism and police corruption were all for naught. Or were they? Maybe the professional rabble rousers and merchandise boosters accomplished their goal. But the community at large most certainly did not accomplish anything worth writing home about.
