Unrest in Charlotte leads to resignation pleas from protesters
Christian Segers, Staff Writer
Image: Caleb Ecarma
Leading city administrators in Charlotte, N.C. are receiving calls demanding the resignations of officials in the wake of the police shooting of a reportedly unarmed man last Tuesday.
Although the official video of the shooting of 43 year old Keith Scott has officially been released to the public, the clips did not provide conclusive evidence and the investigation is still on-going.
Since the death of Scott last week, Black Lives Matter (BLM) protesters have filled the Charlotte, N.C. streets on a nightly basis — some peacefully and others not-so-peacefully. These nightly demonstrations have remained in the national spotlight due to the continuous protests and destructive nature of some protesters.
Buildings and businesses alike have been looted, while cars and other flammable materials have been ignited into an inferno whose flames, like the racial tensions in our country, show no signs of being quelled.
Just last week, former Charlotte Mayor and sitting North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory, gave the command for the National Guard to deploy and save the city streets. It was the governor’s hope that amidst more violence from protesters and an increased number of local hospital patients, the National Guard would serve as a beacon of stability and order.
Problematically, the protests, or riots as they have become more widely known, have not ceased and instead nicked the scab that so delicately held the racial inequality argument temporarily at bay.
That argument reached yet another breaking point when Charlotte officials held a city council meeting to address rising concern by citizens that the police force was not being held accountable for alleged misconduct. Calls for the immediate removal of all major city figureheads could be heard throughout the duration of a tense meeting.
Darcel Chandler, an attorney, went on the record saying, “If you can’t do your job, let’s find someone who can. We can’t choose who we want the laws to apply to.”
In reply to the concerned citizens, Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts said, “We want to hear what you have to say. We care very much about hearing you.”
Although a host of names have been called upon to submit their resignations, Mayor Roberts and Police Chief Kerr Putney have certainly received the most flack for their actions.
