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“We cannot return violence with violence” in Charlotte, black GOP senator says

By Vera Bergengruen

vbergengruen@mcclatchydc.com

September 21, 2016 11:10 PM

Protesters have taken to the streets of Charlotte following the shooting death of Keith Lamont Scott on Tuesday. Officials allege a black officer opened fire on Scott after he emerged from his car with a gun in the University City area. Family mem
WASHINGTON

As a second night of protests erupted in Charlotte, N.C. on Wednesday in the wake of a police-involved shooting of a black man, Sen. Tim Scott urged for calm to “come together as an American family” and find solutions.

"We cannot return violence with violence, or allow our frustration and sadness to lead to more heartbreak,” he wrote on Twitter on Wednesday evening, as news broke that a person had been shot at the protest by a civilian.

The tragedies in Tulsa and Charlotte show us the full magnitude of the challenges we face as a nation when it comes to police and community relations.

Sen Tim Scott, R-S.C.

The fatal shooting of a black man, Keith Lamont Scott, by police led to protests that injured 16 Charlotte officers on Tuesday. Just days earlier, a video showed police gunning down Terence Crutcher in Tulsa, Okla., as the unarmed man held up his hands

"The tragedies in Tulsa and Charlotte show us the full magnitude of the challenges we face as a nation when it comes to police and community relations,” Scott said.

"When we see video like the one from Tulsa, it is impossible not to acknowledge the issues at hand," he said. "When we lack video and have conflicting stories, such as in Charlotte, it only makes the case further for body cameras.”

In Charlotte, police said the man was holding a gun. His family members say he was reading a book.

Scott has been pushing for body cameras to be adopted by law enforcement since the shooting of Walter Scott, an unarmed 50-year-old black man, in his hometown of North Charleston last year.

September 22, 2016
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He has proposed to authorize $100 million in grants for police departments to pay for body cameras for their officers to wear on patrol.

Scott and his friend and fellow South Carolina Republican Trey Gowdy also led a roundtable discussion in Columbia last month on mending the gap between police officers and communities of color. They were joined by South Carolina faith and law enforcement leaders.

Gowdy also spoke out on Twitter during the protests on Wednesday night, echoing Scott’s words that “violence cannot begat violence.”

"The frustration and anger felt when innocent citizens are killed by law enforcement officers...must result in swift and certain justice," he said. "But it must be justice - not vigilantism."

This summer Scott, along with his colleague Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., also proposed ‘Solution Sundays,’ where families invite families of other races to share a meal.

Scott, the only black Republican senator, gave a series of three speeches on the Senate floor this summer, after several fatal police shootings of black men led to the retaliatory killing of five police officers in Dallas.

In an unusually frank style, Scott, the only black Republican senator, told his colleagues of his personal experience being singled out by law enforcement.

“I have felt the anger, frustration, sadness and humiliation that comes with feeling like you're being targeted for nothing more than being yourself,” he said.

Vera Bergengruen: 202-383-6036, @verambergen