CMPD arrest caused concussion, says protester charged with assaulting officer
A “No Kings” protester charged with assaulting Charlotte police during an anti-Trump march in June asked for the charge to be dismissed Friday, saying he suffered a concussion during the arrest; another protestor has seen that same charge dismissed because the officer “does not recall” the incident she was arrested for.
The two protesters recently appeared in the Mecklenburg County Courthouse for their misdemeanor charges of assaulting an officer during the June 14 march that filled uptown Charlotte’s streets.
At one point that day, an officer sent a stream of pepper spray into a crowd. At least one protester filed a complaint against Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, saying an officer hit her in the throat with a bike handle and police refused to give her his name.
In the case heard Friday in court, police say Shannon Brooke Riley, 24, struck the top of an officer’s foot with a “red aluminum broom stick” that had a sign attached to it.
According to the arrest sheet, Riley was “attempting to push through the police line instead of continuing on the route of the march. Riley was “striking it in a stabbing motion” and “striking the ground” when the broom struck Officer Blake Helms in the top of the left foot with the broom stick.
Helms was not in court Friday, and Riley’s case was continued. His public defender, Selin Roberts, said Riley suffered a concussion caused by his arrest and said the charge should be dismissed.
Tirsa Grande-Sanchez, 21, was arrested the day of the protest when police cameras recorded her “throwing a water bottle at Officer Jason Humphreys head.” According to Mecklenburg County District Court dockets, she faced one count of assaulting a government official, but it was dismissed in mid-September.
A note in the online eCourts system gives one reason for the dismissal: “[Law enforcement officer] LEO does not recall.”
“The officer did not have a clear recollection of this specific incident,” Mecklenburg District Attorney Spencer Merriweather said in a statement to The Charlotte Observer. “The State lacked the witnesses necessary to proceed and the case was dismissed.”
This story was originally published October 6, 2025 at 11:45 AM.
