Charlotte's center city made national news when Democrats elected to hold their convention here. But the uptown area got a different, less positive kind of attention three months later.

What officers described as civil unrest broke out among the thousands who lingered uptown following a festival on Memorial Day weekend. Suspected gang members squared off against one another. A mob burst into a store, taking whatever it could grab. And police, who at one point called in extra officers, arrested more than 70 people. Two men were shot, one fatally, just a few blocks from Time Warner Cable Arena, the epicenter of next year's convention.

In the ensuing weeks, the eyes of the nation turned to the 4.2 square miles that Capt. Jeff Estes commands.

That focus is likely to intensify as uptown - and the police department's ability to keep it safe - is scrutinized with just nine months before delegates start showing up.

It will be the biggest event Estes has had to plan for since he took over as captain of the Central Division in 2006. He's working behind the scenes, tinkering with how the police department will deploy officers next September.

(He said he couldn't disclose specifics.)

You're likely to see Estes' face on the news, explaining to people the department's plans to keep people safe. And he'll be in the background, in closed-door meetings with decision makers analyzing plans to protect the city.

But first he has to navigate nearly a year's worth of large-scale events - and other public-safety concerns uptown.

A few weeks ago, a woman was stabbed to death with a beer bottle outside a pub near Bank of America Stadium. In a few days, thousands will stream to uptown for the New Year's Eve "First Night" celebration. They'll come again for the NASCAR Food Lion Speed Street event in May, and for the Fourth of July celebration.

Estes' task will be multifaceted. He'll have to handle the nuts and bolts of policing, for sure. And he'll have to take into account the needs and desires of the varying stakeholders who live, work and play uptown - even when those desires conflict. And on a nearly monthly basis, he'll be responsible for managing large crowds on a few uptown streets.

"Every officer that works Central Division knows that that from the minute you're assigned to Central Division, you're operating on a stage almost ... . I understand everything that's at stake, but I think my time here has prepared me for this," he said.