Humanities › History & Culture The 2016 Charlotte Riots and the Killing of Keith Lamont Scott Share Flipboard Email Print Demonstrators protest in Charlotte, North Carolina, after the police killing of Keith Lamont Scott. Brian Blanco/Getty Images
Humanities › History & Culture The 2016 Charlotte Riots and the Killing of Keith Lamont Scott Share Flipboard Email Print Demonstrators protest in Charlotte, North Carolina, after the police killing of Keith Lamont Scott. Brian Blanco/Getty Images History & Culture African American History The Black Freedom Struggle Major Figures and Events Important Figures Civil Rights Slavery & Abolition Segregation and Jim Crow American History African History Ancient History and Culture Asian History European History Genealogy Inventions Latin American History Medieval & Renaissance History Military History The 20th Century Women's History View More By Nadra Kareem Nittle M.A., English and Comparative Literary Studies, Occidental College B.A., English, Comparative Literature, and American Studies, Occidental College Nadra Kareem Nittle is a journalist with bylines in The Atlantic, Vox, and The New York Times. Her reporting focuses education, race, and public policy. our editorial process Nadra Kareem Nittle Updated May 29, 2019 Deadly riots broke out in Charlotte, North Carolina, in September 2016. What had been peaceful protests over the police killing of an African American man named Keith Lamont Scott turned into a melee involving both demonstrators and the authorities. The spread of gunfire, vandalism, and smoke bombs during the riots led the North Carolina governor to declare a state of emergency. In the end, neither the city of Charlotte nor the people caught up in the protests were left unscathed. The 2016 Charlotte Riots The Charlotte riots took place in 2016 after a black man named Keith Lamont Scott was killed by police on Sept. 20. Officers said he had a gun, but Scott’s family denied he was armed and suggested he’d been framed. The riots ended by the morning of Sept. 23, but they had resulted in property damage, injuries, and more than a few dozen arrests. Tragically, one man, Justin Carr, died during the violence that broke out in Charlotte after Scott’s killing.The district attorney ultimately decided not to file charges against the officer who shot Scott because evidence suggested the slain man had been armed and did not follow commands. The Killing of Keith Lamont Scott The Charlotte riots took place just one day after a Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer fatally shot married father of seven Keith Lamont Scott. The 43-year-old man had parked his car in the lot of the Village at College Downs apartment complex, where police had arrived to serve an arrest warrant to a different individual. The officers said they saw Scott with marijuana and that he’d gotten in and out of his car with a handgun. When they told him to drop his weapon, he ignored their commands, making him an “imminent threat,” according to the authorities. Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer Brentley Vinson, who is African American, fired his weapon, wounding Scott. First aid was performed, but Scott did not survive. His wife, Rakeyia Scott, had witnessed his killing and maintained that he was holding a book in his hand, not a gun. Given the history of police shooting unarmed black men, supporters of Scott believed his wife’s account. However, the authorities attempted to verify their version of what happened by stating that they had recovered Scott’s loaded gun from the scene and that he had been wearing an ankle holster. They also said that no book was ever found. Protestors march up Trade St. September 21, 2016 in uptown Charlotte, North Carolina. Sean Rayford / Getty Images The disparities between law enforcement’s account of events and Rakeyia Scott’s led protesters to take to the streets. The fact that his family suggested that the authorities had planted the gun at the scene only led to more skepticism about the officers involved in Scott's shooting. Several people were harmed during the demonstrations over his death. Riots Break Out in Charlotte Just hours after Scott’s killing, demonstrators poured into the streets. They held the trademark “Black Lives Matter” signs often spotted in the wake of deadly police shootings of African Americans. The grassroots Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement gained momentum after Mike Brown’s killing in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014. The movement raises awareness about the fact that African Americans are disproportionately killed by the police. Protesters affiliated with BLM and other groups chanted “no justice, no peace!” as they marched through downtown Charlotte. Some members of the public reportedly began to pelt the police officers on the scene with water bottles and rocks. The officers responded by firing tear gas. During the unrest, police, news reporters, and civilians all sustained injuries. Arrests were made when some crowd members didn’t disperse, blocked the lanes of Interstate 85, vandalized vehicles and buildings, robbed an ATM and various shops, and set fires. A civilian named Justin 