The city’s government issued a Tweet saying the curfew is citywide.
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A crowd of protesters left a Charlotte park on Thursday evening and wound through the city’s streets as officers with bikes looked on.
Earlier in the week, the Charlotte protests turned violent.
A THIRD night of protests over a police shooting in Charlotte gave way to quiet streets as a curfew enacted by the United States city’s mayor ended early yesterday.
Police said two officers were treated after being sprayed with a chemical agent by demonstrators, but there were no serious injuries. Chanting “No Justice, No Peace” and “Don’t Shoot, Hands Up”, protesters began peacefully marching down streets around 7:30 p.m. Thursday – surrounded by rifle-carrying National Guard officers – carrying signs that read “End Police Terror”, ” Black Lives Matter“, “I Hope I Don’t Killed For Being Black” and “Black Power”. Police claim Scott was armed and posed a threat when he was shot.
But Charlotte-Mecklenburg police chief Kerr Putney said earlier that releasing the footage of Mr Scott’s killing could undermine the investigation. “I’m not going to jeopardise the investigation”.
The tense southern city was placed under a state of emergency amid growing complaints that authorities had been too slow to respond to the hundreds of protesters who took to the streets after Tuesday’s shooting of Keith Lamont Scott, a 43-year-old African American.
Despite the brief outbursts, Thursday night’s demonstrations were calmer than those on the previous two nights in North Carolina’s largest city.
The unrest has seemed at odds with Charlotte’s image as a diverse, forward-looking banking capital of the New South. Bank of America – along with Wells Fargo and Duke Energy – told its employees to stay out of Charlotte.
Police charged Ian Bowzer of Charlotte with damage to property for allegedly kicking in the glass doors at the Hyatt Hotel. Neighbors, though, have said he was holding only a book.
Putney has said a handgun was recovered at the scene, and that no book was found, contrary to the family’s assertion. But the “intent” is to publicly release the video along with other supporting evidence once it’s been fully gathered.
However, Scott’s family viewed the footage from the dash and body cams Thursday, providing an interpretation of the incident that could very easily be corroborated by anyone with eyes if only the footage were to be released.
“There’s nothing in that video that shows him acting aggressively, threatening or maybe risky”, said Justin Bamberg, one of the lawyers representing the family.
“When he was shot and killed, Mr. Scott’s hands were by his side and he was slowly walking backwards”, the family said.
The Rev. Robin Tanner of Piedmont Unitarian Universalist Church, told CNN Friday morning she was standing behind Carr when he was shot. Bamberg gave no details on what the wife saw.
The Carolina Panthers and the National Football League are continuing to monitor the protest situation in Charlotte following Tuesday’s shooting of a Keith Lamont Scott by a police officer. “Come on out [of] the vehicle”, she says, seconds before saying in an increasingly louder voice, “Keith, don’t do it. Keith, Keith, don’t you do it!”. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Other cities have released footage of police shootings.
Justin Bamberg, a lawyer for Scott’s family, watched the video with the dead man’s relatives.
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Roberts said during that same news conference that “I do believe the video should be released”. The video recorded by Scott’s wife had not been previously released. “We know there are different versions of the story out there”.
