Shot protester on life support
ONE person was shot and gravely wounded yesterday in a second night of unrest in Charlotte, North Carolina, officials said, as police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse protesters after the fatal police shooting of a black man.
North Carolina’s mayor later declared a state of emergency.
Charlotte police chief, Kerr Putney, initially reported that a person shot during the protest had died, but city officials later posted a Twitter message saying the individual had been hospitalised on life support.
The city also said the gunshot was fired by one civilian at another, not by police. A police officer was also being treated for injuries, the city said.
Putney said: “We’re trying to disperse the crowd. We’ve been very patient, but now they’ve become very aggressive, throwing bottles and so forth at my officers, so it’s time for us now to restore order.”
The flashpoint for Charlotte’s unrest was Tuesday’s fatal police shooting of Keith Scott, 43, who according to police was armed with a handgun and refused officers’ orders to drop the weapon. His family and a witness said Scott was holding a book, not a firearm.
Governor Pat McCrory said he was sending officers from the state Highway Patrol to assist local law enforcement.
“Any violence directed toward our citizens or police officers or destruction of prop- erty should not be tolerated,” McCrory said.
Authorities have not released any video of the incident, but the city’s mayor said she would view the footage today.
The latest trouble began with a peaceful rally that turned violent after several hundred demonstrators, chanting “Black lives matter” and “No justice, no peace”, marched through the city with brief stops at a black church, police headquarters and an entertainment venue.
Protesters confronted patrol cars and officers in front of the Omni Charlotte Hotel and began to surround groups of police and their vehicles.
Police then unleashed rubber bullets, tear gas and flashbang grenades to disperse the protesters, who hurled fireworks and debris at officers.
The confrontation grew more intense as helmeted police carrying shields advanced down a street, pushing back demonstrators who scurried for cover as officers fired more tear gas.
Protesters were also seen looting a convenience store after smashing its windows. Others set fire to trash cans.
A resident, who gave his name only as Howard, said that the injured man was standing in front of him.
“My first thought was it was non-lethal because police were shooting rubber bullets,” he said.
The man lay on the ground motionless for a couple of minutes before someone rolled him over and blood was coming from his head, the witness said.
Some protesters expressed anger at the lawlessness exhibited by fellow demonstrators. One woman was heard shouting, “Stop – that’s not what this is about”, as women broke bottles in the street.
“We are tired of people, especially police, killing our black men,” Blanche Penn, a long-time community activist, said. “Charlotte has always been quiet. But now it’s time to be loud.”
Scott’s wife, Rakeyia, issued a statement describing her family as “devastated” and appealing for calm: “We have more questions than answers about Keith’s death.”
Sixteen officers were injured on Tuesday and yesterday. Tuesday’s disturbances in Charlotte unfolded as demonstrators in Tulsa, Oklahoma, demanded the arrest of a police officer seen in a video last week fatally shooting an unarmed black man who had his hands in clear view at the time.
The deaths were the latest incidents to raise questions of racial bias in US law enforcement.
President Barack Obama spoke by telephone yesterday with the mayors of Charlotte and Tulsa, a White House official said. – Reuters