Police have released dramatic footage of a black suspect being shot dead by officers in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The wife of Keith Lamont Scott has already made public her own footage, in which she can be heard pleading for police not to shoot her husband as he was unarmed.

But Charlotte police chief Kerr Putney has insisted the 43-year-old was "absolutely in possession of a handgun".

Image: Police released dashboard and body camera footage

He said officers were trying to serve a warrant on someone else when they spotted marijuana and a weapon in Mr Scott's car.

Police said they were not worried about the drugs until they spotted Mr Scott's gun.


Image: Mr Scott was pronounced dead after being taken to hospital

The two police videos, including dashboard and body camera footage, have been released after several days of demonstrations demanding that the public see the video, with protesters chanting "release the tape" and "we want the tape".

The first shows Mr Scott getting out of a vehicle and walking backwards as police fire four rounds at him, but it is unclear whether he has a gun in his hand.

The second clip reveals Mr Scott on the ground in the moments after he was shot as officers surround him.

Police also released photos of a gun that they said was retrieved at the scene, adding that it contained Mr Scott's DNA and fingerprints.

They said the gun was loaded and Mr Scott was wearing an ankle holster.

Image: A pistol that police said was in the possession of Keith Lamont Scott

As the videos were released, Chief Putney told reporters that people "want to see the facts, objective facts. And that's what we're presenting".

"People can interpret anything they want based on one piece of evidence, and I can tell you, I suspect they will, based on the video footage. But what I say is, you have to put all pieces together," he added.

Mr Scott's family lawyer Justin Bamberg told a news conference that despite the new videos, it was still impossible to "clearly identify what, if anything, is in his hand, and that has not changed".

Chief Putney re-emphasised that Mr Scott had a handgun.

When officers "see the weapon, and they see the marijuana, they say, 'oh-oh, this is a safety issue for us and the public'," he said.

Hundreds of demonstrators took their protest to the Charlotte police department for a fifth night on Saturday.

Chants of "we're marching all night long" could be heard, in apparent defiance of a midnight curfew imposed as part of a state of emergency.

Wife's video of Charlotte police shooting

Mr Scott's family previously released two minutes of smartphone footage filmed by his wife, which does not conclusively answer the question of whether he was armed.

In the video, Rakeyia Scott pleads: "Don't shoot him, don't shoot him. He has no weapon."

As she films, an officer can be heard repeatedly saying: "Drop the gun."

She then shouts to them that her husband has a traumatic brain injury (TBI).

"He has a TBI. He's not going to do anything to you guys. He just took his medicine," she says.

'I can be shot by the police because I am black'

Shortly afterwards gunshots can be heard, but the actual shooting is not caught on camera.

Mr Scott is then seen lying face down on the ground while his wife says: "He better live."