Emergency in Charlotte
STATE OF EMERGENCY IMPOSED AFTER RIOTS OVERWHELM CHARLOTTE POLICE FORCE
Violent protests in US city over deadly police shooting of a black man |
Violent protesters rampaged through parts of downtown Charlotte as anger continued to build over the deadly police shooting of a black man and the wildly different stories about what happened from authorities and the victim’s family and neighbours.
North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory declared a state of emergency on Wednesday night in the state’s largest city and called in the National Guard after Charlotte’s police chief said he needed the help.
A peaceful prayer vigil turned into an angry march and then a night of violence after a man was shot and critically wounded and protesters charged police in riot gear trying to protect an upscale hotel in Charlotte’s typically vibrant downtown.
City officials said police did not shoot the man.
Video obtained and verified by AP, which was recorded right after the shooting, shows someone lying in a pool of blood as people scream and a voice yells for someone to call for help. People are then told to back away from the scene.
The unrest took many by surprise in Charlotte, the banking capital of the South with a population of 830,000 people, about 35 per cent of them black. The city managed to pull through a racially charged shooting three years ago without the unrest that erupted in recent years in places such as Baltimore, Milwaukee and Ferguson, Missouri. Police charged Randall Kerrick with voluntary manslaughter within days, but the jury at his trial couldn’t reach a unanimous verdict.
On Wednesday, protesters who were shouting “black lives matter” and “hands up, don’t shoot” left after police fired flash grenades and tear gas after the shooting.
Setting fires
But several groups of a dozen or more protesters stayed behind, attacking people, including reporters, shattering windows to hotels, office buildings and restaurants and setting small fires.
At one point, news helicopters showed protesters on the loop highway around downtown, trying to stop cars for several minutes before police arrived.
“My heart bleeds for what our great city is going through,” McCrory said. He was mayor of Charlotte for 14 years before becoming governor.
Authorities said three people and four police officers were injured, but those figures had not been updated early yesterday morning. Videos and pictures on Twitter showed reporters and other people being attacked.
The violence happened amid questions about what happened on Tuesday afternoon when 43-year-old Keith Lamont Scott was shot and killed in the parking lot of his condominium complex. Police did not release dashboard or body camera footage, but said Scott had a gun and refused several orders to drop his weapon. Scott’s family and neighbours said he was holding a book.
“He got out of his car, he walked back to comply, and all his compliance did was get him murdered,” said Taheshia Williams, whose balcony overlooks the parking spot where Scott was on Tuesday afternoon. She said he often waited there for his son because a bicycle accident several left him stuttering and susceptible to seizures if he stayed out in the hot sun too long.
The violence happened amid questions about what happened on Tuesday afternoon when 43-year-old Keith Scott was shot and killed in the parking lot of his condominium complex. Police did not release dashboard or body camera footage, but said Scott had a gun and refused orders to drop his weapon.