Charlotte, N.C. – The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department on Saturday released portions of video footage of the police shooting of Keith Scott. Scott was killed by police Tuesday in an incident described very differently by police and witnesses. A graphic video released on Saturday, taken from police body camera footage of the incident, shows an officer trying to gain access to Scott’s vehicle. It captures the moments after Scott goes down, but the shooting itself is obscured.
Reacting to the controversial video of the incident, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said in an interview with Fox News that the rise in police shootings that has occurred in recent months serves “as an excuse for handing out racist labels,” when in reality, many of the shootings were “pretty justified.” “Now, don’t get me wrong – I think the police are making a lot of mistakes, as well,” Trump said. “But the thing that bothers me the most is the fact that these videos can be very easily misused to paint the picture of police officers who are killing suspects intentionally, just for the heck of it.”
“And that is precisely why I intend to criminalize those body cams that serve against police officers who are wearing them the second I am elected, we can’t have any more of that,” he added. “And here’s a very simple reason why that’s such a good idea. Police officers protect citizens and the law because they have a duty and an obligation to do so. And if that involves shooting an occasional criminal, and if that criminal also happens to be black, then that’s the way it is. On the other hand, criminals aren’t forced to commit crimes; they make a choice to do so, which is why they always have other options.”
Trump continued, “So, I just want to make sure that we still have our priorities straight here. Crime can never be justified, whereas police shootings can be. But when we have videos of those shootings that hurt officers who were doing their job, that’s when a line gets crossed and we need to react. Not to mention they almost exclusively paint white police officers as black-haters and racists. And when we tell that to the world, we get ambushed by the BLM about how African Americans are being oppressed. Well, excuse me, but I don’t think consciously committing acts of crime helps the situation either.”
“Bottom line,” Trump revealed, “if I’m elected president, there will be no more body cams on police officers in the country. I am sick and tired of white cops risking their lives every single day on the job and then having their own equipment turn against them and assist in them being labeled as racists and murderers. And if anyone doesn’t like it, I’ll just refer them to Hillary Clinton, who would rather fire millions of law enforcement employees to gain a couple more political points than face the real problem. And believe me – I know a thing or two about real problems,” he said. “For example, do you have any idea how long it takes to get my hair looking this good in the morning? It’s an endless battle.”
