The White House indicated Friday that it would prefer that police in Charlotte release the tape showing the police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott, echoing comments that Attorney General Loretta Lynch made Thursday.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said it’s up to police in Charlotte whether and when to release the video. However, he said President Obama believes that, a matter of principle “when you’re in a position of needing to build trust with a group of people, being as candid as possible is usually the best approach.”
On Thursday, Lynch said in most cases, releasing the video of these events is “more helpful than not.”
An unofficial video of the shooting taken by Scott’s wife emerged Friday afternoon, but nothing has been released by police.
Earnest said Justice Department officials have been dispatched to Charlotte to help local officials, and not report back to the president.
Obama is being apprised of the efforts to quell the unrest there, sparked by a police shooting of a black man, in other ways, Earnest said. For example, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, a former Charlotte mayor, has been offering input.
“He obviously has a lot of ties to that community and a lot of relationships there,” and can offer Obama insight, Earnest said.
Earnest said it is “obviously” a good sign that Thursday night’s protests in Charlotte were more peaceful, after previous nights that saw violence and lead to one fatal shooting.
