Charlotte Protest turns violent, Governor declares state of emergency

A prayer vigil in honor of Keith Lamont Scott turned violent on Wednesday night in the US city of Charlotte, prompting the Governor to declare a state of emergency.

The national guard has also been deployed in the city after a second night of violent protests over the police shooting.

While strongly disputed by the 43-year-old’s family, earlier Charlotte’s police chief said evidence, though not definitive, supported the officer’s claims Scott was armed.

“The video does not give me absolute, definitive visual evidence that..that would confirm that a person is pointing the gun. I did not see that in the videos that I’ve reviewed” he said.

One person was shot and seriously wounded and at least 44 people arrested after protests turned ugly in the North Carolina city late on Wednesday.

Nine other demonstrators and two officers were also hurt in the clashes downtown. The disturbances grew more violent as officers carrying riot shields moved in.

But Scott’s death and last week’s killing of Terence Clutcher in Oklahoma, who was unarmed, has once again raised questions of racial bias in US policing.