Past fatal police shootings hold lessons for Charlotte, N.C

Marchers hold a sign asking for the removal of National Guard troops during a protest against the police shooting of Keith Scott, in Charlotte. REUTERS/Jason Miczek

(Reuters) - Within five days, black men were shot dead by police in two major U.S. cities, with the incidents captured on video. But the reaction on the streets in each was vastly different.

In Tulsa, Oklahoma, demonstrators marched peacefully following the killing of Terence Crutcher, who was unarmed at the time of the shooting. In Charlotte, North Carolina, two nights of riots followed the death of Keith Scott, 43, on Tuesday, who refused orders to drop a gun he was holding, according to police. His family says he was holding a book, not a firearm.