Charlotte-Mecklenburg police have arrested 125 people in connection with seven nights of protest over George Floyd's death, with the intensity of police-protester clashes waning Thursday night.
A WFAE review of arrest lists since mayhem erupted May 29 shows 14 people have been charged with assault on a government official, 24 with possession of guns or other weapons and six with possession of pyrotechnics, or fireworks.
CMPD news releases say 12 officers have been injured when people on the streets have thrown bottles, rocks and fireworks at them. They've confiscated an assault rifle, other guns, knives, machetes, a baseball bat and a metal pole.
Five people have been charged with reckless driving, which police say involved vehicles following the protesters and endangering them.
No tallies have been released on demonstrators injured by pepper spray, rubber bullets and other "riot control agents" used during the first five nights of conflict.
The clashes involving arrests, injuries and riot control tactics have followed peaceful demonstrations each day, some of them drawing thousands of people who packed Charlotte's streets demanding an end to police brutality and systemic racism.
Seventeen of the 125 people arrested were charged with crimes against property, including injury to property, burning property and breaking and entering. Police say stores have been looted, windows broken and walls defaced with graffiti.
The largest group, 62 people, faced such charges as failure to disperse, resisting an officer, disorderly conduct and/or drug-related charges. Charlotte City Council member Braxton Winston was charged with failure to disperse the first night.
High And Low
On Thursday night, police say protests beganat 6 p.m. and continued through 1:45 a.m. Friday, with no assaults, no property damage and no use of riot control devices. The only arrest was of a driver police say fled from an earlier incident.
Friday afternoon, CMPD Chief Kerr Putney said that's what he hopes to see going forward, with protests scheduled at least through early next week.
"Last night was textbook," he said in an online news conference. "We had some organizers from the Million Youth March ... who did some fantastic work. I'm proud of them. The young people put on a very lawful protest."
Tuesday night, when police fired tear gas at protesterswho appeared to be pinned between riot police on Fourth Street, is generally viewed as a low point. Police arrested 16 people that night, and have since sought an SBI investigation into officers' action. On Friday, Putney said he will also ask the federal Office for Domestic Preparedness to review the departments use of dispersal orders and chemical munitions.
"It's hard to watch young people being exposed to chemical munitions," Putney said of a video of Tuesday night's encounter.
Who's Been Arrested
Running the list of names provided by the police through the sheriff's department database of arrestsshows that 64 of the people arrested are black men, 30 white men, 13 white women and 10 black women. The records also show one Asian man and one man whose race is unidentified.
Six are juveniles for whom no identifying information is provided.
Of the 99 people whose addresses are listed on arrest records, 86 are from Mecklenburg and surrounding counties.
Sign up here for The Frequency, WFAE’s daily email newsletter.
_
