Early afternoon on Sunday May 31st demonstrators gathered in Uptown Charlotte for a march, protesting police brutality against the black community, triggered by the recent murder of George Floyd, a black man killed by Minneapolis police officers. Floyd was suspected of using a counterfeit $20 bill.
Photos by Mallory Shorter
In the evening, a large gathering of demonstrators took to the streets of the Uptown district for what, for the most part, was a peaceful assembly.
At every block the demonstrators were met by police officers on bikes who barricaded the streets to allow them to march through. The crowd stopped, face to face with the officers, with their hands up shouting “Don’t shoot” before continuing.
A bus load of officers in tactical gear pulled up behind the protesters, before rushing them.
The majority of the protesters fled through a parking garage, as the officers closed in shouting “Move!” Those on the outside scattered and a woman can be seen throwing a drink on the officers.
The officers threw tear gas towards the opening of the garage as a second wave of officers ran in as reinforcement.
A woman was arrested and held in the middle of a group of officers. She was allegedly carrying a gun.
The demonstrators marched the streets chanting phrases such as “No Justice No Peace,” “Black Lives Matter” and “I can’t breathe.”
A few of the protesters stood between the officers and their fellow demonstrators encouraging, them to keep moving.
At around 8pm the crowd started to dwindle down.
During the evening, the march was relatively peaceful. However, as day turned to night its been reported that the activities grew more violent. Reportedly, more than 15 arrests were made during the demonstrations Sunday night. Some protesters went on to throw objects at the officers, damage windows at the Wells Fargo and Chipotle on South College St. CMPD responded with tear gas and arrests. At around 9pm hundreds of protesters went to the sheriff’s office and set off fireworks.