Weekend of Largely Peaceful Protests Yields 3 Arrests: CMPD

CHARLOTTE, NC — Charlotte police arrested three people over the weekend, following a series of largely peaceful community demonstrations held Saturday and Sunday throughout the Charlotte metro.

For more than a week, protesters have filled the streets of U.S. cities to denouncing police brutality in the wake of the death of George Floyd, who was killed while in police custody in Minneapolis.

Floyd, 46, died May 25 after being stopped by Minneapolis police investigating a reported forgery. Video from the scene showed former police officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on a handcuffed Floyd's neck as Floyd cried out, saying he couldn't breathe.

On Saturday, the ninth day of protests in Charlotte, a group of several hundred protesters marched from Freedom Park, located at 1908 East Boulevard, to Uptown Charlotte around 5 p.m., Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said. The group disbanded around 11:30 p.m.

Around midnight, however, a group of about 20 protesters crossed Interstate-277 and stood on the shoulder, police said.

"Due to the safety concerns of standing on a highway, officers approached the protesters to encourage them to demonstrate elsewhere," CMPD said. "The protesters then became confrontational, but officers were able de-escalate the situation."

Less than an hour later — shortly before 1 a.m.—a group of about 30 protesters began to intentionally disrupt traffic and surrounded a patrol car, CMPD said.

Jimmy Huntley, 22 and who CMPD called "the agitator of the group," ran from officers but was later apprehended, arrested and charged with resisting a public officer and impeding traffic, CMPD said.

"Throughout last night’s demonstrations, there were no officers injured, no objects thrown, no assaults, no property was damaged, no dispersal orders issued, and no use of Riot Control Agents (RCA)," CMPD said Sunday morning.

Multiple peaceful protests continued throughout the city Sunday afternoon.

Around 5:30 p.m., about 1,000 protesters convened and marched for about two hours along Ballantyne Commons Parkway. Around 7 p.m., another large group of protesters marched from Romare Bearden Park at 300 S. Church Street to CMPD's headquarters, located at 601 E. Trade Street, before marches returned to the park, CMPD said.

Around the same time, a demonstration was also held "without incident" at Marshall Park on East 3rd Street, police said.

About 100 protesters from the Marshall Park event left the park around 10 p.m. to march in Uptown Charlotte. Near the intersection fo 4th Street and McDowell Street, several of the protesters became hostile towards CMPD Captain Brad Koch, who CMPD says "has walked more than a hundred miles with protesters this week."

Koch was aided by other protesters "who protected him" as he fended off the attack, CMPD said.

"We want to thank all of the protesters who looked out for Captain Brad until officers arrived," CMPD said.

Responding officer deployed pepper spray against the protesters and an officer was injured in the incident, police said.

Gloria Merriweather, 28, and Tomeka Hayes, 36, were both arrested and charged with resisting a public officer. Merriweather was also charged with assault on a government official.

As of Monday, 19 officers have sustained injuries and 125 have been made during the course of 10 days of protests.

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