After the fatal 2016 police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott in Charlotte, City Council members released a "Letter to the Community," pledging to take action to address residents' concerns. Now, a year later, the City is set to give a progress report.
Last year's letter said council members "hear the anger, frustration and need" expressed in Charlotte's streets and the council chamber, following the Keith Scott shooting. The letter acknowledged community concerns involving trust in law enforcement and police department accountability, along with the need for more affordable housing and access to good-paying jobs. During a Council workshop Monday afternoon, city staff will present a report that the City says will "document progress made to date" on those issues.
On housing, city officials said in late August that Charlotte is nearly halfway to a goal set last year of creating 5,000 affordable housing units over three years. But council members, city staff, and citizens all said affordable housing remains in short supply, especially for Charlotte's poorest families.
At Monday's workshop, City Council will also officially receive a draft report from representatives of the Police Foundation, an independent group that studied Charlotte's public safety response to the protests sparked by the Keith Scott shooting.
The draft report, made public last month, concludes that the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, overall, "acted appropriately" in handling the protests. But the Police Foundation made nearly three dozen recommendations in areas such as crowd control, de-escalation training, and informing the public.
