Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said 27 people were arrested Monday night as a fourth consecutive night of protests in the city turned violent. Although two protests earlier in the day – one at 1 p.m. at SouthPark Mall and another at 6 p.m. at Freedom Park that drew about 1,500 people – were peaceful, protesters who gathered uptown later in the night injured three officers.
Of the 27 people arrested, four had weapons – including a firearm, two machetes, a baseball bat and a metal pole.
Most of the other arrests were charged with failure to disperse and resisting a public officer, though possession of marijuana, reckless driving and injury to personal property were among other charges.
CMPD said the peaceful protests turned shortly after 10:30 p.m., when protesters began throwing rocks at officers. During the escalation, two officers were struck by fireworks and another officer was struck in the head with a brick. All three were treated and released.
In the last four days, 97 people have been arrested at protests, CMPD said. Of those, more than 70 are from the Charlotte area.
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