Charlotte protests peaceful as police ignore curfew

Protests in Charlotte were largely peaceful Thursday night as authorities allowed demonstrators to break the midnight citywide curfew that the mayor imposed, according to reports.

At the protests over a deadly police shooting Wednesday night, a man was fatally shot in what police say was a confrontation with another protester. In response to that and other outbreaks of violence, Gov. Pat McCrory (R) declared a state of emergency and Mayor Jennifer Roberts (D) imposed a citywide curfew.

Early Friday morning, the National Guard watched over largely quiet demonstrations in the city’s business district.

Demonstrators move to Omni Hotel – chant the name of Justin Carr, protester shot and killed last night.
“The police have never kept us safe” pic.twitter.com/4v1icRO6zR

— Wesley Lowery (@WesleyLowery) September 23, 2016

National Guard standing by. #CharlotteProtests pic.twitter.com/okjqENz9qd

— Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) September 23, 2016

“Everybody lay down like you done been shot”: Charlotte, 31 mins before curfew… pic.twitter.com/fJRiXaRJoI

— Richard Fausset (@RichardFausset) September 23, 2016

The demonstrations began on Tuesday in response to the fatal shooting of Keith Lamont Scott at the hands of police, who say he was armed.

Scott’s relatives were shown video of the shooting Thursday night, but police are refusing to make the footage public despite calls from the family and activists to release it.