Charlotte’s mayor has imposed a curfew after days of unrest in the North Carolina city. However, police said that they did not want to forcibly remove people from the streets if protests remained peaceful.
Mayor Jennifer Roberts announced on Thursday night that she had imposed a curfew on the southern city from midnight to 6 a.m. local time.
The decision came as protestors filled the streets for the third night following the death of 43-year-old Keith Lamont Scott who was shot by a black police officer earlier this week. It’s the latest in a string of killings by police officers of black men across the US, a trend that has inspired the “Black Lives Matter” movement and become a focal point in the presidential race, DPA reported.
Protestors on Thursday were largely peaceful after two nights of violent, chaotic clashes that led to injuries, looting, vandalism and arrests. But police were forced to use tear gas on some protestors who had been blocking a highway.
Earlier in the week, police had used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the people on the street. So dangerous were the conditions that several major banks told their employees to stay home.
One protestor, 26-year-old Justin Carr, who was shot by a civilian during Wednesday night’s demonstration, died in the hospital on Thursday. He had earlier been placed on life support.
Charlotte police have refused to publically release video footage reportedly showing Scott’s killing, though the dead man’s family was allowed to view it on Thursday. Police Chief Kerr Putney told the media that the video didn’t clearly indicate if Scott was holding a gun at the time he was killed. Police accounts say Scott refused to drop a gun before being shot.
