A Burger King off Beatties Ford Road in north Charlotte remained closed Tuesday morning, a day after a Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer fatally shot a 27-year-old man in the restaurant's parking lot. Monday evening, demonstrators taped poster board signs criticizing the police to the restaurant's windows, and wrote messages of protest and grief on the sidewalk.
[Related Content: CMPD Identifies Man Fatally Shot By Police, Releases 911 Calls ]
The start of Monday night's city council meeting was marked with an emotional moment from Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles.
"Losing someone is really, really difficult," Lyles said. "So let me say on behalf of all of our citizens, we work hard every day to serve you well. Today was a tough day for anyone that works for the city and, I hope, for all of us that live here."
Council member Braxton Winston, meanwhile, said the incident demonstrated the need for more policy and cultural changes, saying "municipal governments should not be in the business of killing people."
That comment drew a response from Republican Ed Driggs.
"I just hope you'll make the same speech every time we get news that someone is murdered in Charlotte, because those lives matter too," Driggs said.
CMPD says restaurant employees called the department to report a suspicious man and when officers arrived, 27-year-old Danquirs Franklin did not respond to requests to drop a gun. The fatal shot was fired by Officer Wende Kerl, a 22-year veteran of the department. She's been placed on administrative leave, as is department policy following a officer-involved shooting.
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