Updated 12:11 p.m.
The final report is out from an independent review of CMPD's handling of the September 2016 protests following the police killing of Keith Scott. The main finding by the Police Foundation of Washington, D.C., doesn’t vary much from its draft report released last fall – that CMPD "acted appropriately" and according to its policies as it responded to a week of demonstrations uptown.
The foundation calls for better police training, increased transparency and better preparation for the kind of roving demonstrations that occurred following the Scott shooting. The reviewers also noted underlying social concerns, including the city's "stark racial, ethnic and economic divides."
That aspect of the final report was new, and activists took notice.
"One of the things that we asked after we got the initial draft was that it contain more context about Charlotte, the history of police accountability, and the distrust of police from the community. And that was reflected in the final report," said Robert Dawkins of SAFE Coalition NC.
CMPD Chief Kerr Putney said in a statement that the department has already implemented some of the suggested changes and is working toward others. "We remain open to any recommendations that may help us better serve our community and we look forward to studying this final report," he said.
Mayor Vi Lyles declined to comment. A spokesman told WFAE she planned to read the report over the weekend. "Until she can really delve into the whole thing, she doesn't want to offer premature comments," he said.
The report does not address the Keith Scott shooting itself. The city did not ask for that as part of the $380,000 review.
After the draft was made public last September, the foundation held followup public meetings and met with activists and city officials.
