Charlotte demonstrators break curfew to demand release of video of fatal shooting of Keith Scott

Charlotte has seen protests for four nights in succession

The demonstrations were sparked by the shooting of a black man by police (AP)

Strong in spirit, if somewhat diminished in number, several hundred demonstrators again defied a curfew in Charlotte to demonstrate over the police shooting of a black man and demand the release of video footage.

For the fourth night in succession, anywhere up to 300 people carrying banners and chanting, marched through the North Carolina city in a peaceful display of anger and determination.

“It’s my fourth night, but we have to keep on,” said a black 31-year-old woman, Jza, who was carrying a banner and walking at the front of marchers. “I have a young daughter. I can’t let her grow up in this.”

Protesters marched for the fourth night in succession (AP)

The immediate trigger for the protests was the fatal shooting on Tuesday afternoon of 43-year-old Keith Scott, who was killed as he sat in his car while waiting for his daughter get off her school bus.

Police claimed that Mr Scott, who was African American, was carrying a gun and refused repeated demands that he put down his weapon. His family has insisted that he did not have a gun and that he was reading a book.

But beyond the shooting of Mr Scott, who was killed by a plainclothes officer who was himself African American, the protesters were seeking to drawn attention to the flood of black and minority people who are shot dead every year by the police in the US.

“We have a black president. We would like to make traction,” said Justin Tolston, 25, a student. “We have to keep on the struggle. We have to show there is racist tension even in city like Charlotte which claims it is progressive. That’s why we’ve had four days of protests.”

Officials in the city have imposed a six hour curfew beginning at midnight. But police appeared to have little enthusiasm to enforce the ruling as long as marchers remained peaceful.

At one point it appeared that the marchers were set for trouble when the entered Interstate 277, something that had led police to use tear gas the night before. But with police in attendance, many of them on bicycles, the marchers walked down the interstate before heading back into Charlotte.

The demonstrators have demanded that police release video footage of the shooting of Mr Scott that was captured by the police department - one recording on a dash-cam device and a second on body camera worn by one of the uniformed officers at the scene.

Yet the city’s police chief has said that for now, releasing the footage could inflame the situation in the city. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is among those who have called for the release of the footage.

Ms Clinton had said she would travel to Charlotte on Sunday, but postponed her plans after Mayor Jennifer Roberts asked that both she and Donald Trump - who is also planning a visit - not not stretch the city’s police resources.

Meanwhile, the widow of Mr Scott has released footage she recorded herself immediately before her husband was shot. The footage does not show whether he was carrying a weapon, but officers can be heard shooting at him to drop “the gun”.

The recording also carries the sound of a series of gun shots. Afterwards, Mr Scott’s wife, Rakeyia, screams: “F***. Did you shoot him? Did you shoot him? Did you shoot him? He better not be f***ing dead. He better not be f***ing dead. I know that f***ing much. I know that much. He better not be dead.”