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The .380ACP Colt Mustang found by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police near Keith Lamont Scott after his shooting last week was reportedly more than just a heater – it was a hot item. Fox 46 News reports that a so-far unnamed fellow arrested on a breaking-and-entering charge has told police that he sold the stolen firearm to Keith Scott.

Criminals lie, of course, and those who are in police custody due to one transgression have been known to make up stories to save their own skin. Still, the narrative around the Scott shooting that helped people rationalize days of protests and rioting has ‘evolved’ a bit from its starting point. At the beginning, the story was that Scott was shot while reading a book (he loved to read the Qu’ran, according to his mother,) and possessed no firearm–the ‘disarmed’ point also being one that his wife makes repeatedly on the video she recorded during the incident. The fact that a firearm and holster were found kind of kills that story.

We also now know that in 2005, Scott pled no contest before a Texas court to charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and evading arrest with a vehicle. He was released from prison in 2011, but per federal (18 U.S.C. sec. 922(g)) and North Carolina law, he remained legally prohibited from possessing a firearm.

Granted, the fact that he possessed a firearm — even doing so in violation of the law — does not, by itself, mean that police were justified in shooting him. I’ve not seen any indication that the police knew who Scott was, or had an idea that he was barred from possessing a firearm due to a prior felony conviction. (If they saw him with the joint and the gun…that might be enough to try to disarm him, for whatever that’s worth.) Nor does the fact that a 1911-style pistol is seen cocked with the safety off while on the ground mean that it was about to be fired in anger before it landed there.

I can testify that on more than one occasion, the safety on my (sadly departed) Springfield EMP got disengaged through occasional jostling and bumps; it has also been my experience that the frame-safety on a firearm similar to the Mustang can be disengaged while in a pocket. And, let’s just be fair here, a guy smoking a joint might have forgotten to engage the safety in the first place when he headed out that day.

The police claim that they saw Scott with marijuana, but didn’t act against him until they saw that he had a gun; you can, indeed, hear them repeatedly telling Scott to “drop the gun” on the videos of the incident from police as well as the one made by Scott’s wife. (Spoiler alert: none of the videos show the events leading up to the confrontation.) While it’s always wise to avoid judgment before investigations are complete, the facts that are trickling out so far support the CPD’s version of events, and paint a rather unfavorable picture of Scott.

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66 COMMENTS

  2. Golly gosh gee no wonder he kept that window shut. Contact high.. doesn’t matter ’cause all the black lives splatter types bunch will claim the po-leece planted it.

    • To be fair, I’m sure there’s a squad somewhere that between them doesn’t have at least one drop gun, but of the dozens of squads I’ve met across the country, I have no idea who or where they are.

      That said, the evidence shows it highly likely that this isn’t one, and that Mrs. Dindu Nuffin is peddling the usual lie that so often works for Hillary – who you gonna believe, the reams of evidence, or my lyin’ speechwriters?

      • I wonder where all these experts about ‘squads’ get all their police experience. I haven’t traveled the country examining the ‘drop gun’ policy of every police department but I guess my limited experience must always have been in one of those rare ‘squads’ where drop guns are a thing of B-movies and legends from the 70s.

        • Hannibal,

          My grandfather was a policeman in a prominent, large city from something like 1945 to 1970. It was common knowledge that many of his colleagues carried a “throw-away piece”.

          I got the impression that they carried a throw-away piece in case they made an honest mistake … and possibly to frame someone that they knew was a really bad actor. I did not get the impression that they carried a throw-away piece so that they could summarily execute anyone at the drop of a hat.

          I have no evidence to substantiate his claim. And I have no idea what attitudes and practices are prevalent today in terms of a “throw-away” piece.

        • Even assuming they HAD one and decided to use it here, what would their motive be in taking down Scott in the first place? They weren’t even there for him that day.

          Is it realistic that one of the cops spied the marijuana, and decided to liven up everyone’s day by starting a confrontation? Or, someone decided that he just didn’t like the cut of Scotts jib and decided to start something?

  3. Has anyone considered that someone having an adverse reaction to some recreational drugs might not be totally coherent or lucid while interacting with the police?

    Serious question there. Exactly how high was he? Could he even respond to the commands? Did he?

    • It’s probably not a good idea to smoke dope in a car with a loaded gun on a public street.

      If you must imbibe do so at home with out wearing the gun where you can float around as much as you like.

      • Kind of explains why he was known to ‘read a book in his car’. Seems more like Mom didn’t like him smoking in the home, so he had the habit of ‘hotboxing’ in the family sedan instead.

    • Smoking pot, no matter what strain of ‘Turbocharged New York Diesel’ it is, is not going to make you see things, or do weird stuff you normally wouldn’t do – beyond eat Taco Bell voluntarily.

      Now, if we’re talking about ‘getting wet’ or ‘Sherman Helmsley’ then that’s completely different, and only an idiot would do PCP and drive. Or even be in public.

      • It’s not going to make you trip balls but it certainly has an effect on the central nervous system that can include a diminished capacity to make decisions and take in information.

        But that falls under ‘stupid games’ as far as I’m concerned.

      • As stated above; anyone that is such a accomplished moron as to sit in a car on a public street developing his plan to smoking pot, while showing a firearm is NOT going to become smarter after smoking the pot. Potheads obviously are not the smartest crew but they self inflicted stupid is not a legitimate excuse for anything.

    • Even if he was high, how many cops do you think are medically competent enough to realize that? Furthermore, what would you do should a person on a drug high come at you with a loaded gun?

  4. Scott chose the time and manner of his own death. I have no sympathy for him.

    Crutcher was stupid, but no worse than stupid. He didn’t deserve what he got. Tulsa is going to write a big check, and the officer involved may do time. I have no sympathy for her.

    Each case stands on its own.

    • Quote:
      “Crutcher was stupid, but no worse than stupid. He didn’t deserve what he got. Tulsa is going to write a big check, and the officer involved may do time. I have no sympathy for her.”
      End Quote

      I suggest you are judging without all the facts.

      Maybe we should wait to see what the investigations turn up and the result of the trial.

        • The officer should write the check. The remaining balance paid by the spouse and children until they have nothing. The remaining balance paid by the Sargent. The remaining balance paid by the LT. The remaining balance paid by the chief.

          The rest, discharged in court. I’m tired of the taxpayer, the ONLY truly innocent party in these situations, paying for everyone else’s professional incompetence immunity and ghetto lottery winnings.

          The guy who said Tulsa, Charlotte, and the rest were separate incidents was wrong. They all expect the innocents to pay the fines, pay the lawsuits, pay the overtime, pay pay pay pay. In return they have two gifts to offer: “I’m going home tonight” and “don’t cross the blue line”

          They can get fucked an go to hell, and I’ll help put them there as soon as I can possibly have a fighting risky chance to get away with it with a fair firefight. I hate them, and you should have no doubt that all this nonsense they’re pulling with the blacks and the drugs is just a prelude to starting in on us. The FOP and every other police union are quite vocal in their contempt of your constitutional rights, except when the politicians forget to give them a carve out.

          The system that we have tolerated up to this point is not capable of producing favorable results for anyone. We should at least try to redesign it. But, there are billions to be made in stealing cash from people who risked their necks to make or smuggle it, and LE will fight for a short time to maintain their little empire and the right to retain the spoils in addition to extorting the taxpayer AND making taxpayers pay for their fuckups

          In all honesty, the best thing to do will be to attack with the fury of 1000 suns and exit infusing bloodlines until they get the idea we are serious. Dragging it out is not gonna help.

        • “Exit infuse” in the last paragraph is supposed to be “extinguish” but iPhone autocorrect newspeak changed it. I think the NSA is watching me.

        • Yes, let’s punish people based on association. I mean, it’s not like that’s the exact same logic the anti-2A crowd uses against gun owners. It isn’t the cop’s fault the guy decided to stupid himself into an early grave.

        • “That shooting was entirely justifed.”

          Now you’re beating the cops to the rubber stamp. Good one. 🙂

          Any lame edited videos to back that statement up?

  5. The Colt (and Sig clones) are solid performers. I for one would not want to be down range of one fired in anger. Most police have a tough job. There are crooked lazy police but this looks like a clear case of someone playing stupid games which reaped negative consequences.

  6. He probably knew he was going down for a prohibited person in possession of a gun and/or possession of a stolen gun + drugs + priors = felt he had nothing left to lose???
    Doubt he could be so high he didn’t know what he was doing don’t to a “t”, I don’t buy that.

    • If he spent 6 years in the joint he would not be looking forward to a gun and drug charges. Probably 3 to 10 depending on whether they tacked stolen property on top.

  7. Do you believe the safety could have been off after the police cleared the gun? (Can you rack the slide on a Mustang with the safety on?)

  8. I see TTAG is now condemning private sales without background checks.

    “the facts that are trickling out so far support the CPD’s version of events”

    I like how you ignore the released videos, all showing there was no gun in hand when Scott was killed, but focus on past records and that Scott was ankle-carrying at the time (the horror). Cognitive dissonance much? The cops have already backtracked on their BS story twice (from gun in hand to reaching for gun to “movement was perceived to be a threat”) and here you are bloviating about the “facts” supporting the CPD. 🙂

    • The cops were screaming at Scott to “drop the gun.” And what did they find on the ground? A gun. What are the odds on a gun dropping down from the sky right next to a dead guy?

      • “The cops were screaming at Scott to “drop the gun.”

        Cops have been known to mistake a dark gray Nissan Titan with a light blue Toyota Tacoma too. Big deal.

        Considering even the CPD admits the video does not show a gun in hand, your odds would be close to zero. Now, what are the chances of the cops frisking the dead man and tossing the ankle carry gun aside, then insinuating the victim actually had that gun in hand by only releasing blurry and inconclusive videos? Pretty good, especially when the pigster that fired the fatal shots “forgot” to turn on his body cam.

      • Cops shout “drop the gun” every time they shoot someone, it seems, even when no gun is later found. If I had to guess, it’s because when they play the video (or, better yet, audio) for the public, and eventually the jury, it creates a strong impression that there was a gun, or at least that they “reasonably thought” that wallet/cellphone/… was a gun.

        Given the amount of omissions, lies and outright tampering that we’ve seen from various police officers across the country in police shootings, I’m not trusting a single word of a police officer that’s not backed either by a recording, or by testimony of witnesses who are not other LEOs.

      • Did you SEE the gun?
        Oh I know we’ve been given a picture of a gun and told “we found this”, but where in ANY of the 4 videos of this incident do you ever see a gun?

        and screaming “drop the gun” does not mean there was a gun in the first place. This is documented trend. Someone reported “he had a gun”, so the cops are screaming “drop the gun”.

        I honestly don’t care who was at fault here, but bad logic, assumption making, and generally horrible reasoning skills absolutely bug the life out of me.

    • Although I agree that the video does not show much, it does show this guy with his hands down and his right hand in front of his hip. with his back to the camera, it is impossible to tell what he has in his hand, and the resolution is too grainy to make out any shapes. If the police are telling you to drop the gun, wouldn’t it make sense to put your hands up to show you have nothing in them?

      • “If the police are telling you to drop the gun, wouldn’t it make sense to put your hands up”

        Sure, if you want the cops to shoot you for disobeying orders. Aren’t the cop cheerleaders constantly demanding instant obedience to orders, even if the orders contradict one another? Daily reminder: obedience did not save Daniel Shaver or Philando Castile.

      • Something I saw on the body cam footage is you can see the holster on his ankle about 17 seconds in. That’s got huge implications, e.g. would a reasonable person believe he would have it in an unconcealed manner vs was it up because he was readying it for action/drawing it. Now the semantic isn’t did he have a gun but did he have a gun in his hand? The witness testimony has already pretty well been disproved by the video, so we can’t reliably use it any more.

      • Is it wise to have your hands up? Absolutely.
        Do we believe in an unwritten set of rules of conduct for interacting with the State that is punishable by death? Aparently.

    • Private sales of stolen guns? Probably not something to be in favor of.

      But that’s not even the point. The family, if you remember, was claiming that our deceased friend didn’t have no gun, just a book. Never owned a gun, no way, says the family to any camera that will point their way.

      Well the more facts trickle in the more we learn about how he had and obtained that gun.

      • It is quite possible that he owned a gun but did not let his family know. The wife could have legitimately believed that.

      • But he had a book. Interesting that his book was that cult classic by Moohamad currently in vogue with the anti-American BLM mob.

        • I doubt he had any book. I think his ‘reading a book in the car’ was a family euphemism for dad’s out in the car hotboxing since mom won’t let him smoke inside.

      • And the cops originally claimed he had a gun in hand, but I don’t see you condemn the cops for that brazen lie.

        So how do you figure out if a gun is stolen during a private sale?

    • Well I can clearly see an exposed ankle holster – and it really looks empty. I also cannot see what he has in his right hand. Must be a small Koran.

  9. Well if we disarm all citizens, then a gun would not be in an ankle holster ergo no reason to shoot a black man who threaten his wife and kids saying he is a killer. Vote Hillary and all will be well. ??☠️

  13. It pains me that anything friends or family say is trotted out when these things happen. These people are not rational. They are grieving, and I have seen people who were a step away from losing their minds in grief. Crazy conspiracy theories just pouring right out. It’s sad. And super frustrating that they must be victimized twice.

  15. Gotta protect the Black Criminal some how, if that does not work film it then extort big buck funds from the Government, Them Blow it all on smack, Nirvana on earth gotta support your Drug dealer!
    Granted their is and always will be prejudice on both sides of the badge more so on the other side especially the BLM side as all they want is a free lunch or dope or something! Too hard to make honest changes! instant gratification, hey make babies not war {more welfare too}

  18. You people are fucking disgusting. He could be the worst piece of garbage since Hitler and it wouldn’t justify the shooting. The dash cam video doesn’t show a goddamn thing in his hands and he’s backing up doing nothing threatening. He was murdered.

    • What did you expect?

      The 2A community is utterly infested with these sheepdog types who carry not as a defensive tool of last resort, but to enable a sick fantasy about putting someone down. One can spot their kind easily: their language resembles the “untermenschen” labels found in the past. Note in this incident, a continual obsession with the past record of the victim (as if it is somehow relevant to the actual shooting) as well as a stream of concocted theories about his mental and pharmaceutical state at the time: they actually *want* the man dead, actual facts and circumstances be damned.

      So while they wait for their own opportunity to play cowboy, they have to live vicariously through the badged gangsters who get to live out their fantasy due to the far looser set of legal limitations for government employees. They cannot kill, so they celebrate the killers.

      • Well Chris t, what prior evidence implies is a pattern, if he wasn’t a choir boy ten years ago, he’s not a choir boy now, typically…

        As far as his hands, all he had to do was hold em up…. Everyone knows that…

        Also, I think of you are in these situations, you kinda get a vibe to know how they gonna end… Ie he knew he was dead before he got out car…I mean, how do you drop or handle a gun non threateningly with 8 jumpy folks trying not to sneeze and kill you…

        This good liberals, is where the wild west makes sense… Everyone is always armed, and in so doing a gun is never out of the ordinary… Just don’t be playing with it in the parking lot…

        • Just look at all these irrelevant, made-up justifications.

          As I said, the sheepdog scumbags desperately want to kill people they deem unsavory, but for now they settle on cheering on the pigsters to get their rocks off.

  20. The burglar committed a federal felony by selling a stolen gun to a convicted felon. That charge will go on top of the state burglary charges. If it doesn’t then the government must explain why have laws they don’t enforce?

  21. Likely prints on magazine and partials on cartridges are present as well. If edc on leg then hair pattern and clothing may support its presence as well. I don’t hear DOJ rumblings on jumping in on this one but the forensics from the FBI would likely tone the libreral commentary down somewhat.

    The truly impressive thing this case brings to point is if this amount of data can be ignored and the PD smeared here – what chance does any PD have. With that, what police officer would approach a black male suspect when ignoring him is an option?

  22. So making pot legal would have saved Mr. Scott??
    If he was drinking a beer, sitting in his car and handling a gun in front of the police should he be treated differently? ???

    The police are not the problem. The other government enforcement officer, the welfare case worker has the most encounters with black people. They destroy families.
    The welfare case worker uses the police as a back drop standing behind them as a threat of force to get their way.
    Not even the libertarians are calling for the ending of the welfare state.
    But they do support black people selling legal poison to each other.

    A drop gun???
    Prove it. I think this is projection from the cop hating crowd.
    How many blacks have have been murdered by other blacks in Chiraq in the last seven days????

    I’m tired of the self hating white liberal trying to help black people. Please stop and go away.

    • I have literally never heard of a libertarian that didn’t want to abolish the welfare state. It violates the basic principles of libertarianism to steal money (taxes) and distribute it involuntarily. Read a little more about it.

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