Vigils, protests, student walkout follow CMPD shooting of man at Burger King
Protests against Monday’s Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police killing of a man at a Burger King in north Charlotte continued Wednesday morning, when several dozen students walked out of school a few blocks from the scene of the shooting.
The Northwest School of the Arts students objected to the killing of Danquirs Franklin, 27, who was shot by Officer Wende Kerl Monday morning.
During the walkout, Northwest students emphasized the connection between Franklin and other black people killed by police in the United States. More than 200 black people were killed by police each year between 2015 and 2018, according to the Washington Post.
Some students talked about the fear they feel for themselves and their family members during interactions with police.
“I shouldn’t have to fear for my brothers and sisters out here, or anybody, that we could be killed for no reason,” one student told the crowd.
The school walkout followed two nights of vigils for Franklin at the Beatties Ford Road Burger King where Franklin was killed. Activists set up a memorial for Franklin, saying he was a devoted father and a fan of comic books.
They also carried signs with messages such as “Stop killing us!” and “Police killed an unarmed black man.”
Whether Franklin was armed at the time of the shooting has been a point of contention between protesters and CMPD.
Police say he had a gun and was shot after he didn’t respond to orders to drop it. Activists and at least one woman who said she witnessed the shooting have disputed that account. Police declined Wednesday to answer the Observer’s questions about the circumstances surrounding the shooting and whether any de-escalation tactics were attempted at the scene.
One Northwest student said Franklin’s killing is an injustice regardless of whether he had a gun.
“Armed or not, he didn’t deserve to die,” she told the crowd. “It’s not a crime to walk out of a Burger King and have a gun on you … you’re a cop, you can apprehend people.”
In a message to Northwest parents released to the Observer, Principal Melody Sears wrote that administrators were aware of the walkout in advance. Students who participated were marked absent from class, she wrote.
Several people who knew Franklin well when he was younger told the Observer they can’t imagine him behaving violently. His family declined to comment this week.
Kerl, who has worked for CMPD for almost 24 years, has been placed on paid administrative leave while investigations are ongoing, as is routine, police said. Police did not answer questions about whether Kerl or other officers at the scene were wearing body cameras.
According to a spokesman, CMPD Chief Kerr Putney will “address concerns from the Charlotte community” at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at a public event at Friendship Missionary Baptist Church, less than a mile from where Franklin was killed.
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