Im in polk county. I just want to get closer to see the size of this tree behind me. This is what were seeing as were driving into polk county early this morning. As you mentioned, two people confirmed dead. The police cant tell us the number of injured. There are rescue missions now to see if there are more people who might have passed away last night or injured or need help. These tornadoes coming in unexpectedly in this area. As you mentioned, it is still raining. We are under a Tornado Warning and a flash flood warning. So this community not out of the woods yet. It is a Small Community and around 9,000 people are without power at this point here in tennessee, craig. All right, thats the scene there in poll b county, tennessee. Mariana atencio joining us there. The embers from devastating wildfires are still burning, as rain falls this morning as well in the Smoky Mountains of tennessee. The raging fires responsible for at least three deaths so far. More than a dozen have been hurt. Thousands have been evacuated from homes in that part of tennessee. The governor there saying it has been the largest fire in that state in the last 100 years. Nbcs Kerry Sanders is in pigeon forge this morning. Craig, we can confirm at least three deaths, ten people have been taken to the hospital. Three of those ten people are in critical condition. As you look at the devastation in this area here, you can see how wide spread it is not only at this homestead, but hundred plus homes and buildings in this area, in the Smoky Mountains, that look just like this. The authorities also are concentrating on a search. Theyre searching for michael reeds wife con stance and his two children, chloe, 12, and lily, 9. They were separated in the firestorm that came through this area. He eventually made his way back up to the house where they were driving through the firestorm. But when he got there, he screamed their names but he never found them. Then he had to escape with his son. The Authorities Say that theyre doing everything they can to try to find them. In a Small Community, they havent lost hope, but theyre beginning to recognize that there is a grim reality that could set in here. Meantime, family members who are wondering at their other areas, cab they go home . This particular area has indeed been opened up. The evacuees can return to see what their homesteads look like and if anything survived. In this case, nothing. But in other areas, there are homes where theres a fire here a little bit further away. The houses are just safe. In gatlinburg, which is just a short diftance from here, pigeon forge, theyre taking theirime about allowing people to return. In part because we had a fair amount of rain. Not enough to put the fires out. But that rain has loosened up the soil and there is concern, even like this, these trees here could be because theyve been hit by the fire could have a weak ened structure and they could collapse, could actually come down. They want to make sure people are not in the wrong place at the right time creating more injury. Thats the status of the situation here. A lot of focus, a lot of prayers for michael reeds family. Back to you. All right, Kerry Sanders there in pigeon forge, tennessee, thank you. Some Significant Developments in president ial politicians. President elect donald trump now preparing for two sizable lifestyle changes. While continuing to fill his cabinet. Trump now reversing course. And he says that hell be stepping down as head of his global company. The president elect also saying he is planning a december 15th News Conference with his children to announce the terms of this separation, if you will. No word yet on exactly who gets the keys to the multibillion dollar kingdom or if that person will also have the last name trump. People in this country knew and accepted and celebrated this business that donald trump had built through his entire life so now were working on making sure that all those conflicts are taken care of. Nbcs Hallie Jackson is here. Nbc Legal Correspondent ari also here. Always good to see you. President elect says he has no legal obligation to do this, but for optics, thats one of the major motivations he admitted in one of those 16 tweets he posted this morning. No legal obligation, correct. Is he right . He is right the ethics act governs basically all federal employees except for him and the Vice President. The bribery laws and the constitutions ban accepting foreign gifts. So there are a lot real conflicts here with real legal implications. This is not just a matter of optics. How does someone go about separating himself from a Company First of all, a company that bears his name but also a company that that is pretty much who he is . Well, thats the big question. Some are calling it the sly in the family stone question. Will this remain a family affair. And if it does you hear that . Everyone got that one. Im heard people on tv even are calling it that. But the reason people are calling it that, its great to have a family business, its great to be proud of having your family members in your business. But having your family involved or step in for you is not removing a conflict. Many people would argue its a greater conflict. What parent, what father or mother, hasnt made a decision in life where they put their kids first or they worry even more about their kids well being or their killds financia well being than their own. Im interested in what everyone else but from the detail we have, it looks to me like we dont have any evidence there will be the kind of separation you would need to remove conflicts. You mentioned in your question there the idea that this is the brand of sort of who he is, right. Yes. Remember who he is becoming and that is the president elect and the president. His brand will become a president ial one which trump the president elect seems to be making the calculation is perhaps more valuable than the business hes built. Point two, as far as reporting on how this will happen, the question is asked constantly. It has been asked from us, from the transition team, Donald Trumps transition folks there, you know, since the day he was elected and what we hears this is being worked out and when its time you will get the details. So thats the december 15th News Conference precisely. Well see. I think theyre feeling the heat. Lets talk about the transition here while i have you. Mitt romney again going out last night with mr. Priebus, mr. Trump there, having dinner. Favorite restaurant, i hear. I cant get a ticket there, maybe you i do want to remind folks just precisely what mitt romney said about donald trump just a few months ago. Here it is. Donald trump is a phony. A fraud. His promises are as worthless as a degree from trump university. Hes playing the members of the American Public for suckers. He gets a free ride to the white house and all we get is a lousy hat. What weve seen with these discussions with president elect trump as well as what weve seen in his speech, the night of his victory, as well as the people he selected as part of his transition. All of those things combined give me increasing hope that president elect trump is the very man who can lead us to that better future. Wow. Wow. I mean, thats there are turnarounds and then there are turnarounds. Is this a situation where mitt romney is being seriously considered . Or is there a chance perhaps that this is just the great et greatest of all punks. Theyre going to parade him around the greatest of all punks. I expect it might not be. I dont know that its a punk only because im not sure that president elect trump would waste his time at a dinner with somebody hes not serious about and frankly, i dont know that governor romney would have come in for something if he had gotten signals this was a punking. There are people within Donald Trumps inner ccle who want to be punking mitt romney. They dont like him. And privately, you know, have real concerns about pulling in somebody who is not a loyalist. That said, a little bit of news here. Jason miller was just on television this is Donald Trumps, one of his spokespeople saying that we are not going to get a decision about secretary of state until after the weekend sob we have some time line guidance here and the position is now down to what he described as the final four, right. So i think you can surmise from that mitt romney is among the final four along with rudy giuliani, general petraeus and tennessee senator bob corker as well. I think well see that play out. The other part of it is, you just played that sound. That was not an apology from mitt romney but it was an acknowledgement that trump has succeeded where romney has not which is something perhaps the president elect wanted to hear. To your punking point, if this is a punking, mitt romney will be punking himself. Right . Thats true because he said all this and if he is doing back flips over what he stated to the voters was the reason not to give donald trump power or work with him, then now hes backtracking so its really on him. Number two, i would just add to the reporting, we really are seeing the apprentice ification of the cabinet Selection Process the language this is coming the idea that everyone has to constantly be discussing the picks, that this is a good use of the govs time or dare i say the publics type. You know what, hold some private meetings. Pick someone. Let the Senate Confirmation process begin. This preseason, is he, will he, wont he, punk him. This is not the most efficient way to staff the federal government. When you look at time line and pace, president elect trump is not behind where other president s have been when it comes to cabinet selections. It took president obama a couple weeks to name his first, clinton a month to name his first. We live in a world now where theres news all the time. Everybodys on twitter all the time. The president elect of the united states, thats the world in which we live. Really quickly, if youre going to drain the swamp, is he the guy to do that . The dnc is asking that question. I think it will come up at his confirmation as well. Hallie jackson. Er since youve come back from thanksgiving, youve been feisty. I dont know what happened over the holiday, but youve been on fire ever since. We should send you away more often. As we speak, democrats deciding if they want nancy pelosi to remain their leader. Well go live to capitol hill for more on the power struggle. Also ahead, we will have lots more on those wildfires still raging in tennessee. Ill talk to one woman who really lost everything except her life and her loved ones. Then a little bit later in the hour, some new details on that mystery in california. A woman abducted. Dumped on the side of the road. Then found three weeks later in 150 miles away. Why pause a spontaneous moment . Cialis for daily use treats ed and the urinary symptoms of bph. Tell your doctor about your medicines, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. Do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, or adempas® for pulmonary hypertension, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. Do not drink alcohol in excess. To avoid longterm injury, get medical help right away for an erection lasting more than four hours. If you have a sudden decrease or loss of hearing or vision, or an allergic reaction, stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. Ask your doctor about cialis. Were following breaking news on capitol hill. A major vote happening right now behind closed coors. Thats warehouse democrats are deciding whether nancy pelosi should keep her job. Should she get an eighth term as their leader. Our Political Correspondent kacie hunt in the bowels of the capitol for us there. Whats the word . Any word on whether shes going to do it . Hey, craig, we are actually in the bowels, hallways, of the long worth house office building, just across the street from the capitol building. These closed doors where these folks are walking into is where this leadership election is taking place. We just heard some cheers for congressman crowley of new york who moved up in leadership and was unanimously elected as the caucus chair. He was discussed privately as somebody who, if he decided to take on pelosi in the election might have actually been able to win and unseat her. There was no shortage of people encouraging him to try to throw his hat in the ring. But in the end, he didnt do it. So were talking instead about tim ryan, the congressman from ohio, from the mahoney valley area of ohio, one of those places we spent so much time focused on during the president ial election about how it used to be. It was a place that voted for president obama twice. It is a place where unions have played historically a very significant and Important Role and be where a lot of peoples jobs and lives have been disrupted by the changes in the economy. And those people tim ryan is arguing arent hearing from establishment democrats on the coasts. Nancy pelosi of course representing a San Francisco area district. And tim ryan himself outperforming Hillary Clinton in those districts and of course those counties in that area largely went for donald trump. Thats the pitch hes making. There are a lot of angry democrats in this room. I think probably more than many people might have expected. Theyre frustrated with the fact that a lot the leadership in the house has been callocyified. Pelosi has ruled with an iron will is how one put it to me. I think that would be maybe if anything an journal statement of how she has approached this caucus over the course of the last 14 years that she has been in charge of it. Tim ryan came to congress the very first year that nancy pelosi was leader. So he and anyone els who come here since 2002 doesnt know a world in which pelosi isnt in charge of the democratic caucus. Were still expecting her to remain the leader when this election is over. Theyre a little bit behind. We thought we might have heard the results coming up. Might be more like 11 30, 12, as they work through this process. Theyre vetting now. Theyre voting now. Theres going to be speeches. Then theyre going to get to a sec rell ballot. We will see how iense this discontent is. Kacie hunt there in the longworth building. Thank you. We should also note congressman crowley will be joining me. Ill have congressman crowley on roughly airplane the same time here tomorrow. Up next, we will turn back to those wildfires in tennessee. These are some pictures that were taken by a woman who nearly lost her life and some of her loved ones as well. Shell join me right after this quick break. Everything your family touches sticks with them. Make sure the germs they bring home dont stick around. Use clorox disinfecting products. Because no one kills germs better than clorox. 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Com. This morning, the south is reeling from destruction left behind by a severe line of storms and twisters. At least five people were killed in alabama and tennessee. Thats where tornadoes tore apart dozens of homes and buildings. A tornado watch remains in effect across much of the southeast this morning. The Islamic State claiming responsibility now for that attack at ohio state university, calling the student who wounded 11 people with his car and knife their soldier. Meanwhile, investigators believe abdul was inspired by isis but Officials Say there is no established contact between abdul and isis or any other terror group. Recovered all of the bodies and survivors from monday nights private plane crash that killed much of a brazilian soccer team. Investigators now analyzing the aircrafts black boxes to figure out how that plane went down. 71 people of the 77 people aboard died. Donald trump expected to add two billionaire business men to his cabinet by naming steven manugen as treasury secretary. It follows trumps dinner with mitt romney last night whos being eyed very closely for secretary of state. Donald trump taking credit for a deal to save thousand jobs from moving to mexico but is this a bad deal for taxpayers . Well break down the numbers. And the day after donald trump announced congressman tom price as his pick for health and Human Services secretary. Well be joined live by Kathleen Sebeliu sebelius, president obama health and Human Services secretary. To a few places. And those places keep changing every few months. The quicksilver card from capital one doesnt do any of that. With quicksilver you earn unlimited 1. 5 cash back on every purchase, everywhere. Leave complicated behind. Whats in your wallet . And youre talking to youro doctor about your medication. This is humira. 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Tennessee wildfires may find they have no homes to return to. She and her family lost their home, they lost their business as well to that fire. The house was in gatlinburg, tennessee. Darlene is on the phone with me now. Darlene, first and certainly most importantly, are you and your family safe . Yes, we are, were staying with friends that opened up their home to us and the kids are a little scattered right now, but we are safe. And your home, again, in gatlinburg, was the business also in gatlinburg and what kind of business was it . Yes. We have a family business, car and jeep rentals on route 321 in gatlinburg. Its destroyed. Theres a few vehicles that are there. But basically the majority of the vehicles have gone, the business, the building is down. We lost our home. We lost our car. We definitely g ll lly got conf the house and my neighborhood is gone. Were all very sorry to hear that. One of the questions continues to be heads up, did you guys get a heads up, any sort of warning from officials there . No. Nothing at all . Nothing at all. We were told to stay in our homes. We were told that the fire was ten miles away. And that we that if we needed to be evacuated, professionals would come and evacuate us. Now, i am not discounting all the measures that chief miller took and mayor albert warner. They were overwhelmed. They did their best. This is not something anybody could prepare for. Gatlinburg is a very small town. Its not even maybe 3,500 people that live here. We are family. And theres no way to prepare for what we had. My main reason and goal for doing these interviews is that we need to put in place we got a tornado alert on our phones this morning for gatlinburg. We get april better alerts. We need to put in place some sort of phone alert for the people that live there. I called when we left the house, when everything was on fire, we literally drove through fire to get down the mountain and i called 911 and they said, maam, were not coming, you need to get driving. We cannot get up there. My purpose for this whole thing is we need warning, an alert, some type of amber alert. Im not discrediting our town or our chief or our mayor or anybody. They are absolutely wonderful people. My kids play ball with their kids. And theyre the most amazing people. Its not even a community here, its a family. Darlene, before i let you go, at what point did you realize that you had to get out . When did you realize, how did you realize that you couldnt stay there . My stepson came upstairs and said, guys, i think its time to leave, the backyard is on fire. And when we walked out front, we didnt even have time to grab anything. When we walked out front, i started grabbing photo albums of my kids and and we walked outside and we couldnt bring them. We just left everything. Got in the car and left. As we left, everything was in flame flames. Were happy you got those photo albums. No, i didnt, i had to leave them in the house because i couldnt carry anything. I couldnt even breathe. Im still having problems. My chest and my throat are burning. So we didnt even getpictures. We walked out with everything that was on our backs. And we left behind my vehicle and we barely made it down the mountain. My boyfriend had to literally get out of the car in the middle of a fire, the fire was the car was engulfed. He had to move cinderblocks and trees that were being blowing our path to get down the mountain. Darlene there in tennessee joining us on the phone. Again, at least three people dead, three critically burned were told as well there in tennessee. As those wildfires in gatlinburg and pigeon forge continue to burn there. Darlene, thank you for your time. Thank you for raising awareness about what you think needs to happen with regards to some sort of Early Warning system with these wildfires. Thank you. Good luck to you. Thank you very much. Turning back to politics here for a moment. President elect donald trump announcing he is going to be announcing congressman tom price to run the Department Health and Human Services. Vice president elect pence last night saying the nomination of price just the first step in dismantling obamacare. The appointment of doctor tom price as the head of health and Human Serviceses, someone who for literally half a dozen years has been in the forefront of efforts not only to repeal obamacare but to put forward common sense, free market solutions, that will lower the cost of Health Insurance without growing the size of government. Its very exciting. And should be a source of great encouragement to millions of americans. Lets bring in Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary Health and Human Services under president obama. Also had the responsibility of implementing the Affordable Care act. Thank you for your time this morning. Great to be with you. You heard what the Vice President elect said there. Whats your reaction. I did. Well, at the end of the day, we now have 20 million americans who have the kind of health and final security that they didnt have before the Affordable Care act. Im all for lowering costs. Everybody wants health costs to go down. The good news for americans is weve had the slowest rate of Health Inflation recorded in the last 50 years over the six years that the obamacare law has been in place. So that actually is working. I think its really important now that republicans make sure when they talk about lowering costs, theyre not just talking about lowering government costs and shifting those to individual consumers but they lower costs for everyone. And make sure that people have security they can rely on. The congressman has introduced legislation to repeal and replace. One of the things he has talked about is getting rid of the individual mandate. Being a cornerstone of obamacare. Can the Affordable Care act survive without the individual mandate . Lets start with the fact that president elect trump says he supports the idea we would keep in place the ban of Insurance Companies picking and choosing who gets coverage. You couldnt be kicked out of a plan when you get sick. You couldnt be locked out a plan with a preexisting condition. I think thats a very important premise. But you cant do that, you cant ban Insurance Companies from locking people out with preexisting Health Conditions unless you have a mechanism to have everybody participate. You need a balanced pool. You need some people who are sick and some people who are healthy. What congressman price has said over and over again in the past is we wont worry about Health Insurance for people with preexisting Health Conditions, which is about a third of the country. We will just put those folks in a highrisk pool. They will just have a special plan and then everybody whos healthy will pay lower costs. That really doesnt work. Ive run a highrisk pool. Its wildly expensive to only have sick people try and cover their own costs for Health Insurance. So you cant get rid of the individual responsibility provision unless and keep in place the ban for Insurance Companies picking and choosing who gets coverage. It just doesnt work. If it were up to you, whats one thing just one thing that you would change about the Affordable Care act as it exists now . Well, i think theres certainly a lot of discuss about ways to lower costs. Id clearly have added a drug negotiation to the bill. It was discussed and not added. I think thats a critical piece. All americans are paying too much for prescription drugs. I think we need various ways to get more Insurance Companies to participate in the marketplaces. This is not a government plan. This is actually an Insurance Company plan. Theyre selling private plans in the private market. And having more competition. And there are several ways that they have suggested to do that. One of them is the risk corridor. So i think theres some real improvements that can be made. But at the end of the day, we have the lowest level of uninsured americans ever seen in our history. We have 20 Million People with new coverage. And i am very hopeful that as Congress Really talks to their constituents, looks at these americans, were talking about taking away Health Benefits from parents who have kids who have had cancer or individuals who run their own Small Businesses who, for the first time, have Affordable Health care. And taking that benefit away could really undermine a lot of economic and Health Security that people rely on. Kathleen sebelius, former health and Human Services secretary under president obama, good to see you, thank you again. President elect trump in indiana tomorrow. That is where he will officially announce a deal that keeps nearly 1,000 jobs with the Carrier Corporation in indiana. Msnbcs ali velshi here now with a closer look at this deal. And whats behind the deal as well. We know this announcements coming tomorrow. We know all the details about it now. There were 2,200 jobs that were going to mexico. Were keeping 1,000 of them. This is great news for the 1,000 people who keep their jobs. Over the last year, this is the number of jobs created every month, it evens out to 181,000 a month. Thats 6,000 jobs a day that are typically created. We want to keep this whole thing in perspective. The issue is Carrier Corporation got something for keeping these jobs here. And this is the economic problem. The taxpayer funded subsidies, because they got something, the citizens of indiana paid for it, cannot reverse decades of factory worker declines. We have a problem in that our wages are high in america. Thats not a problem, thats a good thing. But it costs us a lot to manufacture things that are manufactured by china and south korea for less money than what weve got. Now, heres the other thing to keep in mind. We will not know for a while what carrier got. Maybe theyll tell us. But carrier, otis elevator, pratt, whitney, theyre all part of united technologies. United technologies is a company that earned 56 billion in revenue last year. About 10 of which came from the federal government. 10 of united technologys money comes from the government. Their single biggest client is the u. S. Department of defense. They say pence called up and they had this conversation. This isnt the same as anybody calling up. This is your biggest customer saying we want this factory to stay open. So its all let me ask you this though, whats to stop the next ceo, the next head of a company whos considering moving jobs to mexico from pulling the same sort of stunt we dont know. I was saying to stephanie earlier, during the financial crisis, we used to call it moral hazard. Do you reward people for making a decision that wasnt right . If they were moving their jobs out and now carrier was able to negotiate something in order to stay. We tonigdont know what carrier. Maybe they were to you like this 5 million in revenue, you better keep the factory here. It would be good to see the whole equation before we know how this went down. Lets not kid ourselves, well likely never know. The state of indiana will have to disclose whether it gave up any financial consideration to carrier for doing that. Again what people point out is this happens a lot with big companies. There are always things you do to entice a big company to bring jobs. I guess what donald trump has to think about is most new jobs are created by small and mediumsized businesses, none of whomever get sweetheart deals to keep their jobs here. Thank you, sir. A live look right now. This is a live look. Charlotte, north carolina. This is where the neck lynnburg County District attorney is about to announce whether charges will be filed against the Police Officer in connection with the shooting death of keith scott back in september. In case you dont remember, this was this was the dramatic video of that shooting. It was recorded by scotts wife. You could hear her during this recording essentially give us a play by play as it all went down. Again, News Conference expected to start any moment. We will tell you what the d. A. Says as soon as it happens. He just took his medicine. Drop the gun the itsy bitsy spider went up the waterspout. 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Find out how American Express cards and services can help prepare you for growth at open. Com. Abducted while jogging close to her house. She was released by her captors, three weeks later, dumped on the side of the road nearly 150 miles away. What are we learning about this mystery . Yes, some pretty explosive details coming out today and yesterday, craig, when it comes to what actually happened to sherry pepini when she went missing. Her husband releasing a statement to People Magazine detailing some of her injuries. Ill read you some of that statement. The officers warned me to brace myself, he write, my first sight was my wife in a hospital bed, her face covered in bruises ranging from yellow to black because of repeated beatings. The bridge of her nose broken. He also described bruises, severe burns, red rashes and chain markings. Her signature long hair had been chopped off. One of the other things he described was she may have been branded during her captivity. We asked the sheriff here about those brands. Heres what he had to say. Maybe a method of torture. It could mean a way of control or exerting control over a person. Is it a symbol or could it be some type of message either to the person, the victim, or to others. Now, even with those details coming out, the description of the two kidnappers in this case is extremely vague. All theyve said, it is two Hispanic Women who may have been driving a dark suv armed with a gun. A little bit later today, investigators are hoping to have another briefing and then also hoping to release a few more details when it comes to the description of those kidnappers. Really quickly here for folks perhaps who havent been following the story as closely. How are they able to find this woman . Well, she somehow was either thrown from a moving vehicle as her husband describes in the statement or she was released. About 150 miles away from where she went missing. She was somehow able to free herself of a chain, at least free one hand and then wave at drivers along the highway down for help. So thats how she was found. One of the first phone calls that she made was to her husband. Her husband be an sherry now reunited. Craig. For us in redding, california. Where, again, were expecting to learn perhaps a little bit more this afternoon. Thank you. Again, we are watching and waiting for the mechlinburg County District attorney. Set to announce whether charges will be filed against the Police Officer in connection with the shooting of keith scott back in september. Is it a force of nature . Or a sales event . The season of audi sales event is here. Audi will cover your first months lease payment on select models during the season of audi sales event. bing the details of the evidence in this case. To discuss our legal analysis. That prosecutors and i went through to make the decision we made. As you can imagine, it was a difficult discussion. However, the family was extremely gracious. No one, and i mean no one, should ever experience, let alone witness, the violent death of a loved one. Confrontations between police and citizens in which deadly force is used are among the most important cases my office will handle. We have the duty to analyze the evidence and circumstances. That means we must face difficult issues. Its important that during this process we, the prosecutors and the public alike, never lose sight of the fact a family is grieving. At the end of our discussion today, a detailed report will be published on our website so that it is available to the public. And obviously you. Ill start by describing how much how my office undertakes the review of any fatal officer shooting. In these case, my office uses a protocol that has nationally recognized best practices and is designed to ensure a thorough and impartial review of each case. Any time someone is killed by an officer working in the line of duty, a representative from my Office Reports to the scene and monitors the investigation. In this case, two of my most senior prosecutors responded to the scene. Were given complete access to eith every part of the investigation. When the investigation is complete and the Law Enforcement agency has turned it over to investigative file, the case is presented to my Homicide Team which analyzes evidence piece by piece and considers how state law would apply to the case. Then the group makes a recommendation to me as to whether or not charges should be sought. In the final step, i personally and thoroughly review the entire file. I can tell you that in this case, i thought it was important enough to have additional senior attorneys weigh in. So my executive team and my previous Homicide Team members join the present Homicide Team for this review. Bringing together a group of about 15 career prosecutors. Their recommendation was unanimous. That bears repeating. 15 career prosecutors. And their recommendation was unanimous. The laws that must be considered in these cases revolve around selfdefense. Under state law an imminent threat of death or great bodily harm allows someone to respond in a way to negate or stop the threat. Thedards apply to citizens and Police Officers. The nature of the work theyre asked to do, police are sometimes required to run toward rather than run away from dangerous situations in order to protect the public. Several federal civil Court Rulings are instructed in cases of officer involved shootings. Essentially the law says we have to determine whether it was reasonable for the officer to believe he kneed to use deadly force. The u. S. Supreme court found that this reasonableness must be judged from the perspective of a reasonable officer on the scene. Rather than with 20 20 vision of hindsight. And this reasonableness must allow for fact police are often forced to make split second decisions in rapidly devoling situations. The courts also say that the constitution does not require a Police Officer to wait until a subject shoots to confirm that a serious threat exists. Im now going to discuss the time line events and the provable facts. On september 20th, charlotte mclenburg Police Officers vincent and pendergraph were conducting surveillance on an apartment complex to locate a person who is not related to this case. Officer vincent parked his unmarked van in the complex parking lot with sergeant pendergraph concealed in the back. Because both were working under cover, they were in plainclothes. Basically, the officers in the van pulled nose forward into a visitors spot. Sergeant pendergraph is in the back hidden be with tinted windows. Officer vincent is driving. While conducting this surveillance, mr. Scott parked his white suv close to the van. Officer vincent saw mr. Scott exit the suv and walk past the van. Officer vincent said it appeared as though he was trying to look into the vans tinted windows. At that point, officer vincent was concerned that their cover may have been blown. But mr. Scott got back into his suv and drove away. The officers remained in the unmarked van. We now know at this point mr. Scott went to a nearby convenient store. Investigators later discovered a time stamped receipt in his suv that led them to the store. Where they found Surveillance Footage showing that mr. Scott parked outside and then entered the store. Im about to show you a video plaintiff sco mr. Scott parking directly in front of the store and then stepping or walking into the store. Im going to call your attention to his right ankle as he goes to close the door that does not close immediately. Ill find that slide. So this is mr. Scott. Pulling up in his white suv. He gets out. The door doesnt close. Please watch his right ankle as he turns to the right side of the screen. There. Thats an isolated picture of that scene. The bulge you can see here is consistent with a holster and gun that later that was later described by officers and located at the scene. Within minutes, mr. Scott returned to the apartment complex where he parked beside officer vincents van. When he parked beside the vehicle, he backed in. So you have the Police Officer nose in. You have him backing in. With their drivers side doors close to each other. At that time, mr. Scott opens his door, leans to the side, empties a cigerello. Its just a small cigar. Empties it. And begins to put in marijuana from a pill bottle and roll it. The pill bottle marijuana blunt, because it was smoked when it was later located, were recovered at the scene. At this time, the officers decided the marijuana did not warrant an interruption of their surveillance operation. Officer vincent told investigators, and i quote, were not really worried about a little marijuana. That all changed when officer vincent saw mr. Scott holding up a semiautomatic handgun as he sat in his vehicle. Officer vincent told sergeant pendergraph what he had seen and he decided to leave and come back with marked cars to make an arrest for the marijuana and further investigate the firearm. These observations are corroborated by both officers statements as well as a radio traffic in which sergeant pendergraph asks other officers to join them because theyd seen a man with drugs and a gun. Im going to play you that radio traffic. This radio traffic is important because it corroborates the fact that officers saw mr. Scott with a gun before any action was taken. Officer vincent and sergeant pendergraph met nearby with officer miranda and wiggins. They decided to return to the parking lot with their undercover vehicles and they instructed officer hostletter to join them at the scene with a patrol vehicle. Officers were wearing plainclothes and all four put on tactical vests. Officer vincents vest had his badge clearly displayed on the chest. The others had vests with the words police in bold letters completely across the chest. Officer hostletter was in the marked unit and wore a typical police uniform. The officers had decided that officer vincent would use his unmarked van to pin mr. Scotts vehicle into the parking space so the suv could not be driven away. After officer vincent parked his van in this manner, officer miranda who was wearing a tactical vest as previously described, approached the passenger side of mr. Scotts suv. It was at this point that officer miranda says that he saw mr. Scott reach for his ankle holster. Officer miranda saw the butt of the gun sticking out of the holster. He yells gun gun to his fellow officers. In his interview with investigators, miranda said scott looked at him and then pulled the gun out of the ankle holster. Officer miranda began yelling drop the gun, drop the gun. Officer hostletter, hes the officer in uniform, ran to the suv in the regular uniform ran to the suv and tried to break the passenger side window with a baton. As he did this, he reported seeing mr. Scott holding a gun in his right hand as he was seated in the suv. After officer hostletter broke the window, officer miranda said he saw mr. Scott take a deep breath and exit the suv. Officers vincent, hole