North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory has declared a state of emergency in the city of Charlotte following protests Wednesday night during which police in riot gear fired rubber bullets, tear gas and pepper spray at protesters, who threw fireworks and trash at officers. Authorities said four officers were injured. Many demonstrators were also injured. The night’s protest also included a civilian-on-civilian shooting that left one man critically wounded. The governor has also begun steps to deploy the National Guard. This was the second night of protests in the city following the fatal police shooting of 43-year-old African American Keith Lamont Scott on Tuesday. While the police claim they tased and then shot Scott because he was armed, Scott’s family says he was not armed—except with a book in hand. They say he had been sitting in his car, waiting to pick up his son after school. This comes as protests also continue in Tulsa, Oklahoma, over Friday’s fatal police shooting of 40-year-old African American Terence Crutcher, who was shot by white officer Betty Shelby while his hands were in the air. Solidarity protests to demand justice for the two men were held last night in other cities, including here in New York, while in Indianapolis every player on the WNBA team the Indiana Fever knelt during the national anthem to protest the killings. We’ll go to both Charlotte, North Carolina, and Tulsa, Oklahoma, after headlines.
NC Gov. Declares State of Emergency Amid Protests over Police Killing
HeadlineSep 22, 2016