Charlotte leaders declare state of emergency after protests over George Floyd death

Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles and Mecklenburg County commissioners chair George Dunlap declared a state of emergency on Saturday.

The move came after demonstrators protesting the death of George Floyd in police custody slashed tires on a police cruiser, smashed windows at a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department substation, broke into a grocery store and pelted officers with water bottles along Beatties Ford Road in west Charlotte on Friday night.

“We want protests to be heard. We want it to be safe,” Lyles told reporters Saturday evening. “We want to do it in a way that protects our residents, our neighborhoods, our communities.”

The emergency declaration, which Lyles said she hopes leaders don’t need to use, would allow Charlotte-Mecklenburg to access resources from the state.

Demonstrators said more protests were planned over the next several days.

CMPD Deputy Chief Jeff Estes said Saturday’s state of emergency may be “very brief” compared to the other emergency proclamation still in effect due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

“Last night started out with peaceful protests that we support, and in fact, agree with,” Estes told reporters. “We hope that today, that the peaceful voices will be heard and not be drowned out by violence action. That’s our goal.”

Lyles and Dunlap signed the joint order Saturday morning “to assist law enforcement efforts to respond to the protests,” according to an email County Manager Dena Diorio sent to top county leaders shortly after noon Saturday.

“I think it’s fair for people to vent their frustrations but they need to do it in a peaceful way,” Dunlap told the Observer.

There is not a curfew in effect for Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, Lyles emphasized. But if a curfew is necessary under the state of emergency, Lyles said, sufficient notice would be given to area residents.

The National Guard, which has already been deployed to Charlotte to assist with the public health crisis, could be used to protect property during protests, Dunlap said.

‘Building community’

Protests — mostly peaceful, sometimes destructive — have sprung up around the country since a viral video detailed how a white police officer on May 25 in Minneapolis pinned Floyd to the ground face down and pressed his knee into his neck. Floyd, a 46-year-old African American, can be heard saying “I can’t breathe.”

The officer has been fired and charged with third-degree murder.

On Friday night, three officers in Charlotte suffered minor injuries and multiple police vehicles sustained damaged during protests, CMPD said.

Police said someone discharged a firearm during the demonstrations. A suspect was identified and arrested, CMPD said.

Lyles and Estes couldn’t say which out-of-town organizers may have been behind Friday’s protests around Beatties Ford Road. Estes said as long as protesters remain peaceful, it’s “irrelevant” if they are from Charlotte or elsewhere.

The mayor reminded Charlotte residents that destruction to convenience stores or small restaurants could make a “huge difference” amid the pandemic.

“When we are talking about building community, we have to build it with an understanding of everyone’s perspective and everyone’s place in that community,” Lyles said.

Council member arrested

City Council member Braxton Winston was among the protesters arrested Friday. He tweeted at 1:40 a.m. Saturday that he was “home safe.” And he stood with Lyles and fellow City Council members at the Government Center on Saturday evening.

Earlier, County Commissioner Mark Jerrell condemned Winston’s arrest.

“When you don’t leverage your community leaders and somebody who is as respected as Braxton, it’s a complete misstep — it’s a complete miscalculation,” Jerrell told the Observer Saturday afternoon. “It shouldn’t be done, especially when he, as an elected official, is out putting himself in harm’s way and trying to protect both sides.”

Jerrell said he understands the pain and frustration among protesters, as they witness police brutality unfold “time after time after time.” But he said people must stay constructive, not destructive.

“I want us to look at policies that we can implement that dismantle these institutional structures and barriers that perpetuate racism and inequity in our society,” Jerrell said.

County Commissioner Vilma Leake, whose district includes the Beatties Ford Road, told the Observer she will try to join demonstrators on Saturday evening. But it’s unclear if protests will again gather in the same area — near a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police substation where windows were broken.

But Leake also urged residents to stay at home with their families and “set some agenda” to pave the way for positive change. And she pleaded with out-of-town protesters to avoid returning to Charlotte and causing additional destruction this weekend.

“Marching and demonstrating, it’s fine,” Leake said. “But when we begin to destroy the property within the confines of our community, I cannot support that and I do not support that.”

This story was originally published May 30, 2020 at 3:32 PM.