Thousands march in Charlotte with calls to end racism, ‘defund’ police department

A march that began early Monday evening in uptown Charlotte moved into NoDa and leaders of the protest urged attendees to remain peaceful as the majority of demonstrations so far have been.

Just after 9 p.m., a group of around 200 people stopped on the North Davidson Street bridge crossing over Interstate 277. Nearly an hour later, the march had covered nearly 2 miles and some officers with CMPD accompanied the protest up ahead but kept a distance. As the march passed by 26th Street, people in apartments walked onto balconies and cheered.

Local businesses in NoDa provided food and water for the protesters near 33rd Street.

Earlier in the night, protesters marching in uptown Charlotte circled the city’s government building calling for an end to racism and police violence and Mayor Vi Lyles said she could see nearly 3,000 people from her office window. Other crowd size estimates ranged between 1,000 to 2,000 people. By nightfall, the crowd size fell to a few hundred.

Many speakers ahead of Monday’s march, organized by the NAACP, said they want the city to “defund” the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.

The night’s demonstrations, beginning with a Charlotte Uprising-organized protest at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center, took place as City Council members prepared to debate police reforms. One proposal, from City Council member Braxton Winston, passed to ban using taxpayer money on chemical agents, such as tear gas, which have been used against protesters in Charlotte in recent days.

Some activists, though, say those proposals don’t go far enough. Many called for more de-escalation training for officers and said black men are especially subject to police brutality, often deadly, because of racism. Other speakers called for abolishing the police department.

About two hours after the first demonstration began, a peaceful march left from the government center, headed toward CMPD headquarters, around 6:45 p.m.

Protesters carried “Black Lives Matter” and “Defund CMPD” signs and chanted “No justice, no peace.” Outside the steps of the police department, a speaker read the names of people killed by officers across the country.

After protesters marched around uptown for about an hour, a line of police officers on bikes stood away from the protest on Fourth Street near the courthouse and blocked marchers from accessing the interstate. The march then turned onto McDowell Street and continued on without confrontation with police officers. By about 7:30, marchers filled Marshall Park and the gathering ended shortly later.

A smaller group of around 150 to 200 people continued marching, led by Million Youth March of Charlotte and Salisbury, and began near the government center around 8 p.m.

Police presence was light late Monday, with protesters on bikes performing traffic control for the march which was headed into the heart of uptown and stopped for a time in Romare Bearden Park. Several protest chants denounced President Donald Trump and called on marchers to say the name of people killed by police officers, including George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.

The crowd in Romare Bearden cheered when news came from City Council that Winston’s anti-chemical agents proposal appeared to have enough support for passing.

From there, the crowd moved further north in uptown before marching along North Davidson Street.

11 days of protests in Charlotte

Protests began May 29 in Charlotte following the death of Floyd, who was killed by a police officer during his arrest in Minneapolis.

Demonstrations and marches over the past 11 days in Charlotte have drawn hundreds, sometimes more than 1,000 people, nightly. Protests have largely been peaceful with a few notable exceptions, including some vandalism that occurred in the early days of the protests. Tensions peaked on June 2 when a large group of people marching were caught between two police lines on Fourth Street. Officers on both ends of a city block were ordering people to disperse and using chemical agents, with protesters trapped in between.

On Monday, as a crowd grew in front of the government building, CMPD Capt. Brad Koch was involved in a tussle on the ground with someone who was seen in a video approaching him quickly and colliding with him. The encounter happened about 18 hours after a similarly tense encounter involving Koch and protesters Sunday night on Fourth Street.

Koch has been regularly attending the protests in Charlotte, often seen walking alongside attendees near the front of the march. But in recent days protest organizers have demanded Koch not march with the group.

Koch is seen tackling the person and wrestling with him on the ground on Monday before other protesters stepped in to lead the person away.

This is a developing story. Check back for more details.

This story was originally published June 8, 2020 at 7:04 PM.