The State Bureau Of Investigation will conduct an independent review of an incident captured on video between Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police and a group of protesters Tuesday night. The video appears to show police using chemical agents on protesters who were boxed in on Fourth Street in uptown Charlotte. For the past several days and nights demonstrators have gathered in uptown to protest the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
During a Wednesday afternoon news conference, Mayor Vi Lyles said, “I hope everyone is aware that that’s not the kind of department we want to have for policing. It’s not the kind of reputation we want to have nationally or locally. So when you look at that, we have to understand that we can be better than that.”
CMPD chief Kerr Putney also addressed the incident Wednesday, saying, “That video is disturbing, no two ways about it. The other thing I need you to know is there are a lot of other angles and videos and perspectives that you need to see.” Putney says the issue around that is timing, because CMPD has to seek approval from a judge to release body-worn camera footage, which they will do.
Putney says the SBI investigation will determine if any laws have been violated. There will also be an internal investigation to see if any directives, policy or training protocols were violated during the incident. Putney said he can't get into a lot of the specifics but said he did not like what he saw and can't wait until he can share more.
Putney also said the community should be very proud of the work police officers have been doing over the past few days. “I wish we could have kept this one incident from happening, which I think overshadows all of the positive I have seen,” Putney said. “I’ve seen a lot of community members and a lot of our cops doing some fantastic work, stepping up when our community needs us most.”
CMPD issued a press release saying that over a roughly four-hour period Tuesday night there were at least 18 incidents of protesters throwing objects at officers, and nine dispersal orders were communicated. Police say 16 protesters were arrested and three guns were recovered including an assault rifle. Over the last six days, police say there have been at least 53 reported incidents of officers being assaulted.