What it was like to be in the middle of this week’s Charlotte police protests
Editor’s note: C5 contributor Jonathan Lee Wednesday and Thursday night in the middle of the police protests in uptown Charlotte. He wrote the following about his experiences on Wednesday night. -Corey
Wednesday and Thursday nights in Charlotte featured people expressing their anger and disgust about the killing of a black man, Keith Lamont Scott, by a black police officer, Brentley Vinson, in very different ways.
I attended the peaceful protest in the early evening at the corner of Tryon and Trade Streets. It was well attended, organized and respectful.
After leaving uptown for a short time, I headed back into uptown around 7:45 p.m. Coming from the South End, the light rail was stopped at Bland Station. We were told on the train this would be the final stop, so it was time to walk. It took me about 20 minutes to get to the EpiCentre.
I showed up just after a man was shot near the Omni Hotel, but I saw the first tear gas clouds rising from about two blocks away and began running into the fray.
Over the next four hours, I spent my time on the streets documenting what I saw through Facebook Live. There were stretches of peaceful protests and and periods of chaos.
The police I saw were disciplined in their responses early, only wading into the crowd to scoop up a protester who got too close to the police line or was identified as having thrown an object at police.
I was hit with tear gas three times and pepper sprayed twice. The tear gas burned my eyes for maybe a minute, but was easy to overcome. That pepper spray was quite effective, though. The second you breathe it in, it knocks you to your knees. I spent a good 10 minutes trying to regain my physical capacities.
When the police started calling for people to disperse around 11 p.m., the crowds slowly complied. It was then that I moved from the EpiCentre area, passing the Charlotte Transit Center and vandalized city buses, to the area around the Hyatt House hotel. The hotel’s windows had already been tagged and smashed when I arrived.
I talked to a hotel guest from Seattle. He told me that although the situation reflects poorly on the city in the short term, he knows Charlotte is a great town and will recover.
I couldn’t agree more.
Thursday night’s protest couldn’t have been any different. Despite the presence of the National Guard, a multi-faith prayer vigil was held to begin the evening, then the organized group that I followed marched throughout uptown Charlotte. Peacefully. Sometimes being aided by CMPD as they navigated the streets.
Hopefully, this will be the beginning of a healing process this town most definitely needs.
Photos: Jonathan Lee
This story was originally published September 23, 2016 at 1:24 AM with the headline "What it was like to be in the middle of this week’s Charlotte police protests."